Invictus
by TheHopefulPuffin
Summary: A peaceful day is disrupted in the worst possible way when Will is severely injured during a random attack. With his apprentice's future as a Ranger uncertain, Halt must find a way to heal Will's body and his mind before it's too late. Will!Whump / CaringHalt
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This fic is rated T for blood and violence. It's not nightmarishly graphic, but there is some stuff that may be distressing for some. Warning, Will suffers an irreparable and severe injury during this story, so don't say I didn't warn you if you don't like that sort of thing. LOTS of Will!Whump and CaringHalt - because the books absolutely DID** ** _NOT_** **have enough of those things to satisfy my evil needs. Also, this will be a chapter story, but I have no idea how long it'll go for. That will depend on whether or not people read it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story! If you want me to continue or have something you'd like to see happen, let me know!**

o0o_o0o_o0o

Autumn had always been Will's absolute favorite time of the year. The smells, the way the world seemed to burst with vibrant colors, the crisp, clean quality of the air…it brought a certain peace to his soul and made him feel happy to be alive.

Today was particularly beautiful, though, with the season currently at its peak. And it was for that reason that Will had decided to study his maps outside on the veranda that morning while Halt was inside the cabin making coffee and breakfast.

Resting his chin on his hand, he sighed as he stared distractedly at the maps, wishing idly that he had been able to ride with Gilan on his mission.

The lanky young ranger had arrived a couple days prior and had departed yesterday morning, borrowing both Tug and Abelard for the ride north. Will had been envious when Gilan told them that he had been tasked with tracking down and apprehending a killer who was currently plaguing Redmont and the surrounding fiefs.

He had even begged Halt to let him tag along with Gilan, but predictably, Halt had refused. Instead, his mentor had told him that he needed to do his studying, otherwise he would _never_ be a successful ranger who was sent out on " _cool"_ missions like Gilan.

So here he was - trying to study, but failing miserably. His mind miles away, daydreaming about his future adventures as a full-fledged ranger. Soon enough, he would be the one out there hunting down bandits and murderers...

And that's when his musings were disrupted by a quiet rustling sound coming from inside the barn.

His eyebrows narrowed and his head shot up attentively. He knew that both horses were far away with Gilan…so what, or _who_ , was making that noise…

He sat perfectly still, straining to hear, and then he heard it again - the faint sound of something heavy shifting within the depths of the furthest stall. Whatever it was was living - and it was trying not to be heard.

Will glanced back at the cabin, wondering if he should alert Halt, but ultimately he decided against it - at least for the time being.

He knew he had better make sure it was actually a threat before calling Halt…because he knew he would _never_ hear the end of it if he called Halt outside for a cat or stray dog. And frankly, Will would rather deal with whatever monster was lurking in the barn than Halt if the man's coffee got messed up.

So, as quietly as he could, he made sure his bow and quiver of arrows were readily accessible, and then he picked up his throwing knife. His intent was to throw the knife and startle whatever was inside, hopefully the sudden noise would cause it to dash out, or at the very least make noise that would tell him what he was dealing with.

It worked like a charm.

With a loud _WHACK_ the knife struck the back wall, blade burying itself deep within the wood of the shelter. And that's when Will heard a low chuckle. The sound sent a shiver up his spine.

That was all the proof he needed, with eyes locked on the barn, he thudded his foot against the deck in a rhythm that Halt would be able to hear and feel - its beat meaningless to anyone but his mentor; It meant there was danger nearby.

Will's eyes never looked away from the barn, but he didn't need to glance behind himself to know that Halt had come. He could feel the presence of the old ranger, and his heart stilled a little knowing he was there with him.

o0o_o0o_o0o

Halt had dropped what he was doing when he heard Will's message drummed across the floor. The boy knew better than to play games like that, so he knew full well that something was wrong. He grabbed his longbow and his quiver of arrows as he ghosted out onto the porch to stand beside his apprentice. The younger man was staring with his eyes locked on the barn.

It took a moment, but after straining his ears, he too heard the faint sound of movement from within the furthest stall.

He placed a hand on Will's shoulder and his apprentice turned to look sidelong at him momentarily, mouthing the words 'It's a man' to him.

Halt scowled at the information and removed his hand from Will's shoulder, using it to nock an arrow and take aim at the doorway.

Will jumped slightly when Halt called out to the intruder, "We know you're in there! Step out so we can see you!"

Nothing.

Will now raised his own bow, training it on the door where Halt's was pointed. Something was certainly not right.

They heard the chuckle again, it was a sinister sound that set them both on edge. But Halt was growing tired of the games, and he was a little harder to scare than Will. After giving Will the signal to stay put and watch the door, Halt slipped off the porch and moved across the yard without making a sound.

Will could feel his heart thudding hard in his chest, he could see it causing his bow arm to waver ever so slightly with each beat...And then something occurred to him…could this be the person Gilan had gone on the mission to find? The thought made his blood run cold as he watched Halt's cloak disappear around the corner of the barn.

o0o_o0o_o0o

Halt was a master in the art of unseen and silent movement, and it didn't take him long to cover the ground behind the barn without alerting their _visitor_.

His plan had been simple: sneak up from the opposite direction while the man thought they were both near the house, then he could use the element of surprise to gain the upper hand on the intruder. Additionally, considering the sounds he had heard and what he had seen from the veranda, he had deduced the person was hiding just inside the stall door and around the corner - which, given the angle of the barn, eliminated the possibility of them being seen from any vantage point around the cabin...but _not_ from the woods. They would be visible enough.

Almost there…just a few more paces and he knew the trespasser would be in his sights.

His bow was drawn, and time was beginning to slow as he moved into position. He had to be fast -

But as it happened, he wasn't fast enough.

For as he was about to round the corner, he heard the man in the barn move, followed by a sound that made his heart drop into his boots…

It was the simultaneous thrumming of two bows; one the deep-thrum of a full-sized longbow, and the other, the lighter thrum of his apprentice's recurve…

And then he heard the loud _thud_ , followed by the sound that every archer associated with death…the sound of an animal jerking and writhing in its final moments after being run through with an arrow. Without lowering his weapon, Halt ceased trying to be stealthy and ran the last few paces before stopping in shock at the scene before him.

The intruder was lying on the ground in a pool of bright pink, bubbling blood, one of Will's grey arrows buried halfway to the fletching inside the man's chest. A lung shot.

However, his attention only remained on the man long enough to ascertain that he was dead, then his eyes shot to the porch...Just in time to see Will collapse.

The young man landed hard on his back and knocked his head into the wall…But Halt hadn't seen where the arrow had hit him.

All Halt knew for certain was that Will was hurt and that he needed him.

In a matter of seconds, he found himself beside his apprentice, kneeling down to pull him into his arms. He saw now that the arrow had struck Will in the lower portion of his leg, about mid-shin. And he knew from the placement that it had struck and shattered bone…

The implications of Will's injury caused a lightning strike of panic to tear through his heart, but he shook his head, he couldn't afford to think like that - they could cross that bridge when, or _IF_ , they came to it, but right now Will needed immediate medical care.

He looked around helplessly, tears of desperation and fear burning in his eyes. With both horses gone and Gilan not due back until later in the evening at the earliest…he had no good options for getting Will the treatment he needed. He didn't want to leave him home alone, injured and defenseless, but he couldn't carry him the distance to Redmont Castle, either.

It was rare for Halt to show emotion, but with no one around, he allowed himself to scream in frustration.

There was nothing he could do at this point but try his best, and Will's best hope would be for Halt to bring a healer here. He would just have to run to the castle for help. Hell, he would run to the ends of the earth for the boy he held in his arms…

So Halt lifted Will up and carried him into the house. As quickly and as gently as he could, he laid the boy on his own bed and then looked once more at the injury. To see that weapon buried inside of his beloved apprentice offended him. He could scarcely stand the sight of it, but even as he wanted to remove it, he left it alone. Knowing Will would bleed out even faster if the object was removed before the physician arrived.

There was already too much blood bubbling out already...he had to do something about it before he left to fetch the physician.

He spoke quiet reassurances to Will as he pulled his belt off and wrapped it around the young man's leg, then he cinched it down tight. After assessing that the tourniquet was doing its job, Halt unbuckled his cloak and draped it over Will.

And now he had to run - run like he had never run before. Each stride that carried him closer to the castle was filled with a prayer - _God, help us make it back in time…God, help us..._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's chapter 2! Hope you like it, and sorry for any errors, I didn't do a final proof read (whoops!).**

Gilan was heading home early from his mission. The trail of the killer he had been stalking had turned cold about 6 hours ride north of Redmont, and he didn't see the use in wasting anymore time looking for tracks that weren't there.

Thanks to Tug and Abelard, he had been able to make exquisite time, switching between mounts every 45 minutes or so so none of the horses would become too exhausted.

He had been coming over the hill toward the castle at an easy lope when he saw a familiar form running up the road in the distance, making his way toward the castle.

Gilan's eyebrows dipped at the sight, it was Halt, he could tell by the gait…but he had never seen Halt run like _that_ in all the time he had known him…Something was wrong. He urged Blaze onward, asking for the fastest gallop the small horse could muster and the animal shot off, Tug and Abelard hot on his heels.

In his frenzy to reach the castle, Halt had not even noticed the small herd of horses with one rider that were barreling towards him. Gilan had to scream his name before he even vaguely registered what was happening.

"Halt! Halt! What's wrong!? Halt, easy! Tell me what's happened!"

"Will!", it was all Halt could gasp out as his breath came in painful stabs, he hadn't run this far or this fast in years, and his lungs and muscles were reminding him of that fact now.

"Will? What about Will? Halt, what's _happened_?", the tall ranger was clearly in a panic at seeing his usually calm former master so disheveled and… _terrified_.

"Shot!", he barked out, clearly winded with his hands on his knees. But he didn't allow himself long to pause, seeming to draw from unseen stores of energy, Halt stood up abruptly and reached for Abelard's reins. The old ranger mounted the horse in one surprisingly-spry leap and turned its head toward the castle, he looked back at Gilan and, with a herculean effort, said "Go back…to cabin! Help Will!" and then he was off again, leaving a stunned Gilan in the road with two horses and no idea of what was going on.

o0o_o0o_o0o

Blaze and Tug, sensing something was wrong, ran as fast as their short legs could carry them back to Halt's cottage. When they arrived, Gilan hurriedly went to place the horses in the barn. However, as he lead the faithful animals toward their shelter, they began tossing their heads, eyes wild and frightened. Soon Gilan saw why.

The killer…the one he had been searching for…He was here. And he was dead. The man's body was laying in a massive blood puddle, with one of Will's grey arrows sticking out of his chest.

And suddenly terror gripped Gilan's heart. The dead man before him was a ruthless killer. There was never a rhyme or reason, he simply killed anyone he happened to notice - and he usually made a game out of it.

At least, it appeared, he had lost this particular round…But his worry only mounted as he saw _who_ had shot Will.

Will.

Leaving the carcass of the killer outside, Gilan ran toward the house, he was no longer thinking of the horses. When he hit the porch he stopped and felt his stomach clench as he noticed the large pool of blood on the wooden planks by the door. That would be Will's.

Without wasting another second, he tore his eyes away and burst through the door, casting his gaze around the small house until it fell upon Will.

The boy was laying motionless on Halt's bed. He was ghostly white and covered in blood, and there was an arrow protruding from his leg. And then Gilan noticed that Will was barely breathing.

A low moan escaped from his throat as he hastened to his friend's side. Reflexively, he reached out and felt for a pulse on the boy's neck, but only the faintest and most irregular of beats fluttered beneath his fingertips. Will looked like he was going into shock - something Gilan knew could be fatal in-and-of itself…

Grabbing Will's hand, Gilan started talking, "Will! Hey, you need to stay with me, okay? Halt's coming, he's going to fix you, you just need to stay with me until he gets here."

Will didn't respond.

Gilan didn't know what to do other than wait. He felt tears burning in his eyes as he watched the boy that he'd come to care so much about slipping away. The tourniquet Halt had fastened was biting painfully into his leg, causing Gilan to wince sympathetically, but even so, he didn't dare touch it until the physician got there..

Instead, he settled for continuing to holding Will's hand in his, talking calmly to his friend in the most reassuring voice he could manage.

"Halt's on his way Will, hang in there. You know he will save you…Don't let him down, not now, okay? Be strong, Will…"

And just then he heard hoofbeats thundering on the pavers outside, followed by heavy footsteps pounding across the wooden porch before the old door was throw open; revealing Halt and two of the castle's healers.

No sooner than the door opened, the physician and the young man beside him - who Gilan now recognized was an apprentice - were already at work. Thankfully, they both appeared to grasp the gravity of the current situation and wasted no time with greetings. The master was carrying two large leather satchels full of medical supplies, one he placed carefully on the kitchen table, the other he took with him into the room where Will lay, rolling up his sleeves as he went.

Once they were inside, Halt had followed them and had taken up position at the foot of the bed to watch the proceedings. His usually impassive face was pale and his hands gripping the bed frame so hard his knuckles were white.

Thomas, as the master healer was called, looked up briefly at Halt, before hinting politely that his task would be easier with fewer people in the room, but Halt didn't budge. With his hands working, the healer cast a swift glance at the younger ranger in the doorway to suggest he remove Halt…Thomas had found that people always wanted to hover in a medical emergency…and that was usually one of the worst possible times _to_ hover.

Gilan understood and reluctantly he took his former mentor by the shoulders and forced Halt away from the bed and out into the living room, before pushing him into a chair by the fire. Then he began shaking his shoulder, trying to get the older man to look at him.

"Halt!", he called, but the man was clearly too worried about his apprentice so speak.

"Halt," he started more gently "they're doing all they can for him. You know Will is tough, he'll make it through this."

The greying ranger's head finally swung around so he could look at his former apprentice, Gilan was surprised by the reddness of his eyes. And when he spoke, his voice sounded broken and small.

"Did you see where the arrow hit…"

It was a rhetorical question more than anything. He knew Gilan had seen, and Gilan knew what he meant. The arrow had hit the bone. Even to an untrained eye, the muscle damage was obvious…and wounds like that usually only had one treatment…

Fighting the tears that prickled his eyes as he registered the unspoken meaning of Halt's words, Gilan shook his head and stepped toward the door. He couldn't bear to sit around in the stuffy cottage and fixate on what may happen to Will for another second, he needed something to take his mind off of this whole disaster. And so did Halt.

"It is out of our hands, Halt. We will deal with whatever happens - together…but right now, we need to deal with the…", he didn't know what to call the man who now lay dead on the floor of the barn like the animal that he was.

Halt rose, eyes lifeless, and finished his sentence for him.

"…Murderer."

o0o_o0o_o0o

It hadn't taken the two ranger's long to handle the body.

Halt and Gilan stared down at the man as the latter made notes for his report. Halt was focused on Will's arrow that was protruding from the bandit's chest. It was a perfect shot, he had to admit. He reached down and violently ripped the arrow from the body, earning him a sideways look from Gilan.

"I won't have him disposed of with a valuable arrow sticking out of his chest! I daresay, it's worth more than he is." he flicked the arrow to shed some droplets of blood off of it. Gilan just nodded.

After sufficient notes had been taken, the two men roughly rolled the corpse into a large piece of burlap and tied it securely closed with twine. They would have to arrange a cart to pick up the corpse and transport it back to the castle later, but that was currently low on their priority list.

However, some measures had to be taken to temporarily relocate the body away from the barn, as it was distressing the horses. So Halt decided to throw it in the manure heap a little ways into the woods.

As they brushed they hands off, Gilan pondered aloud if that was entirely necessary, and Halt had merely mumbled that it would mask the smell of blood for the horses, before trudging back toward his cabin with Gilan following quietly behind.

o0o_o0o_o0o

The healers had done all they could, but there was only so much that they _could_ do at this stage.

The arrow had snapped the bone and caused extensive damage to the surrounding muscles, in addition to that, the life-saving tourniquet had come at a price, and had caused the boy's foot to go cold and turn an unnatural color - the color of tissue death.

Will would never be able to walk properly on this leg again, but he did have a chance if…

Right at that moment, there was a knock on the door, and the healer stepped out to meet the man he knew would be there: Halt.

The two men's eyes met and Halt knew immediately what was about to be said, though Thomas started speaking anyway.

"The damage is too severe to save it, I'm afraid. Tissue death had already begun to occur, and the bone and muscle are beyond my ability to repair…I'm sorry, but it'll have to come off."

Halt's swayed when Thomas confirmed the fear that had been stirring in the back of his mind since that morning, since he had first laid eyes on the wound…The greying ranger did not even seem to notice as Gilan caught him, pulled him upright, and guided him onto the couch. His ears were filled with a horrible ringing sound as his vision turned black around the edges.

He thought he could hear Gilan talking to him, but he wasn't sure. The last thing he saw before he slipped into a merciful faint was Thomas walking back into the room where Will was with his suddenly sinister-looking bag of tools.

o0o_o0o_o0o

Halt had woken up several minutes after he had fainted to find Gilan sitting beside him, staring off into space. The younger man must have propped Halt's legs up on the armrest of the couch after he had passed out to help him recover faster…It was his only explanation for the odd pose he found himself in. He sighed, it seemed everyone was being forced to play doctor today.

He groaned a little and swung his legs down onto the floor, then moved to sit up. Once he had righted himself, he found Gilan looking at him. And Halt saw the look in his eyes of a man who had just been to hell - but before Halt could even open his mouth to ask, Gilan cut him off -

"The worst is done…the healer went so fast…" and then he continued quietly "did you hear anything?"

Halt stared at him, confused by the question, but managed to croak out "No."

Gilan simply nodded and looked away. There were tears on his cheeks and they were continuing to fall. Halt sat up and Gilan looked back at him with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Go slow, just stay on the couch. The healer said we couldn't see him right now anyway."

So there he sat - in a state of shock and denial as he waited for the healers to come out with news of Will.

Questions repeated themselves over and over in his mind - _What did this mean for Will's future? What if Will couldn't complete his apprenticeship? What if he couldn't become a ranger? Would he be able to cope with life if he couldn't? Will he be able to cope with life regardless…?_

The living room had grown painfully quiet at they waited for the physician to reappear. However, Halt couldn't take the stagnation, and had decided to busy himself by scrubbing Will's blood off the floor. He didn't want those horrible patches to stain the wood, becoming a constant reminder of…or in case Will didn't…

Gilan had seen what Halt was doing and had watched silently for a moment, but then he tried to pull the other man away from his task, muttering in a reassuring voice that they could get someone else to do that later. In a split second, Halt grew angry as he rounded on the taller man.

"No!", he had shouted, as he shoved Gilan away and scrubbed harder.

The atmosphere tense until he heard Halt say, in a quiet, gentler voice, " _I_ want to do it…He's _my_ apprentice."

o0o_o0o_o0o

Thomas, had been pale when he finished suturing up the boys leg. Amputations were dreadful affairs, and this one was particularly heartbreaking because it had happened to such a young and active boy. His adventures should just be starting...

The brown haired lad before him was still sweating profusely, and he couldn't blame him. Even in this state of unconsciousness, with the elixirs and alcohol they had poured into him, they had not been able to completely kill the pain from the operation. Subsequently, the screams had been terrible to hear, even for a veteran physician like himself. The poor boy…

It would be weeks before he was out of the woods. Infection, shock, complications from bloodless…there were many things that might claim the boy's life in the coming days…

Thomas looked away from Will, and his eyes landed on the nightstand - on the _object_ sitting on top of it…the leg that was separated from its body, bloody and dead.

He had sent his apprentice outside so that he could pass the limb to the boy through the window. He did not want Halt or Gilan or Will (if he woke up) to see it. He would have to burn it later.

He rose wearily and began wrapping it in a bloody sheet, before depositing it in a clean cloth sack. Then he went and opened the window, finding his young helper already standing outside. Thomas felt his heart pang for his own apprentice as he saw the shell-shocked look on the boy's pale face…It was his first amputation and he looked, understandably, like he was going to be sick.

The older man handed the lad the severed limb with an apologetic look on his face, then he spoke softly, "Take this and go back to the infirmary. Once you leave it with one of the nurses, you have leave to go do whatever you like for the rest of the day…" the boy nodded but didn't make eye contact with him. Thomas sighed, "Go on now, I'll be along in a few hours…And I'll be in my study this evening if you feel the need to speak about what was done today…I know it was a horrible thing…"

The boy had simply nodded again as he silently took the bundle he was given, then he scurried off and Thomas watched him go. In time the boy would come to understand the necessity of such things…But for now, he had a patient to tend to. After closing the window, he strode over to wash his hands in the basin filled with pink water. It was time to bandage the wound, and he supposed Halt should come and watch how to do it properly.

o0o_o0o_o0o

The door opened quietly and Halt and Gilan looked up at the healer. The man's apprentice had vanished outside minutes ago and hadn't returned, but they were too distracted to think much of it.

Thomas cleared his throat and stepped into the sitting area, noticing how both ranger's looked into his eyes and pointedly avoided acknowledging the blood that covered his clothes.

"Well, it's done, and he made it through the operation…" he paused for a moment as his eyes rested on Halt's, then he continued "If you would accompany me for a moment, we should clean Will up and then I would show you how to properly bandage and care for the stump during the healing process."

Halt swallowed loudly at the mention of the word _stump,_ but he stood tall as he followed the doctor and let the door swing closed behind him.

Leaving Gilan alone in the living room to be haunted by his mentor's muffled cry of despair.

…

Halt couldn't contain the wail that escaped his lips at the sight of Will. His _son_.

The boy was whiter than a sheet, his hair sweaty and plastered to his forehead. He was barely breathing, and even in unconsciousness his brow was furrowed in pain. But his leg…

It was nothing more than a bleeding stump now, held together by thick stitches. His normal leg sat beside it on the bed, some residual blood was drying on the blanched, white skin.

How could he be a ranger with only one foot…

Then there was pressure on his shoulder, and he turned to see that Thomas had placed his hand there to give it a brief squeeze.

"It isn't necessarily a death sentence, Halt. There are knights who are missing limbs, and they've managed to continue to serve the King. Will is young and strong, he will be able to do anything he sets his mind to…Don't despair, he very well may make a ranger yet…but remember - how _you_ treat him will play a much larger part in what he can accomplish than this disability will. You must believe in him…"

Halt nodded, clearing his throat, but otherwise he didn't respond.

"Now…pressing on," Thomas started brusquely, "help me give him a quick wipe down so he's not so grimy when he wakes."

…

With the two men, it had only taken 10 minutes to clean Will up and get him bandaged and into a soft, fresh pair of trousers.

Thomas had changed the bedsheets as Halt had held Will in his arms like a small child. The healer smiled to himself when he saw the legendary Halt, known for breathing fire and throwing men into moats, gently rocking back and forth to soothe his wounded apprentice.

He looked as much a father in that moment as any father Thomas had ever seen…

And finally the bed was ready.

With a gesture from the physician, Halt laid Will out on the freshly cleaned surface as Thomas carefully placed a folded cloth under the leg to keep any seeping blood off the sheets.

At last, the worst part of the day was done, and both men stood briefly at the bedside staring down at the unconscious boy. Thomas looked relieved, and Halt looked as though he thought Will would disappear at any moment. And then the door was pushed open and Gilan slid inside, he could wait no longer for news of Will…

The two men already in to room looked up at him even as his own eyes fell upon the boy in the bed…and then on the empty space where Will's right foot should have been.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This chapter is basically a lot of fluff, but don't worry, the caring-for-Will chapters are coming up very soon! I'll try to keep updating fairly regularly, but I have to work so it may slow down a little bit - I promise to finish this, though! As always, thanks for reading and reviewing, it means a lot!**

After several long hours, it was clear that Thomas had done all he could do, and finally it was time for him to depart from the cabin in the trees. If he were being quite honest, he would say he was glad to have this whole ordeal behind him…He really hated operating on young people. Especially when it was an operation like Will's…

He had just finished loading his bags into the carriage and was about to head back up the walkway to bid Halt farewell when Gilan had materialized by his side, giving the middle aged man a start.

"Gilan! Good Lord, where did you come from!" he blurted out, hand on his chest trying to calm his heart. The other man didn't even pause.

"Thomas, I have a favor to ask of you, if you don't mind…"

The doctor, being a kind and patient man, was happy to oblige. Even as his heart still beat a bit too hard from Gilan's surprise appearance.

"Anything within reason, my good man! What can I do for you?"

Gilan glanced at the house and then looked down at the ground, "Well, you see, Halt and Will have some friends…at the castle…and I was wondering if you might inform them of what happened today…I feel that their presence may do some good for both of them."

Thomas was nodding along, encouraging Gilan to continue. Though, he had an idea of where this was going - after all, who hadn't heard the rumors around the castle of rangers courting couriers…

And the next second, the rumors and his hypothesis were both confirmed.

"Lady Pauline, the courier. A-and her apprentice, Alyss."

"Aha," Thomas said with a smile, "say no more, Master Gilan. I will personally let them know as soon as I am back at the castle."

"Thank you, sir…for everything. I don't know if Halt will be able to put how grateful he is into words, but believe me - he thanks you as well."

The older man smiled again and nodded knowingly to Gilan. Being a physician was often a thankless job, as usually he was around at very distressing times, and often people ended up venting their fears and anger out on him…he knew that people meant nothing by it, but it did warm his heart when people like Gilan voiced their appreciation. Especially after days like today that were so trying, even for a seasoned physician such as himself.

Thomas patted the younger man's arm comfortingly and left to say his goodbyes to Halt, and shortly after that, he was gone.

Halt had come outside to see him off, and now both ranger's stood watching as the carriage crested the hill and disappeared from view.

It was up to them to care for Will now.

o0o_o0o_o0o

Lady Pauline was pouring over paperwork when there came a knock on her door. Alyss, who was engrossed in her own projects, had jumped up straight away to greet their visitor.

They had both been a little surprised - and concerned - when they saw who it was: Thomas, the master healer from the castle's infirmary.

Alyss's gaze had turned from cheerful to worried and had shot from the physician to her mentor. She had understood what was going on in a split second.

Pauline was filled with trepidation as well, but she masked it better than her apprentice.

"Thomas, what might I do for you?" her voice was quite lovely and refined when she spoke, and he regretted his coming words.

"I'm sorry, Lady Pauline, but I come with news from the Rangers." he paused as both women stiffened, but he had to get it over with.

"There was an attack this morning. I'm afraid young master Will was severely wounded…I was bid by the Ranger Gilan to inform you of this, and to request your presence at their cottage as soon as is convenient."

Pauline stood up from her desk and walked over to stand in front of Thomas. She was scared, though she hid her true emotions - she needed to know…

"You were the attending physician, I assume?"

Thomas inclined his head in affirmation.

And then she whispered to him, "Tell me then, is Will alright…What happened?"

When the man looked up, Pauline saw in his eyes the stress, exhaustion, and sadness of a rough day…A rough day spent struggling to save a life.

His own voice was small when he finally responded, he didn't want to tell them, but he'd rather they not be shocked when they arrived. The formality dropped out of his voice and he spoke to her as a friend.

"Pauline, I had to take his leg…"

The adults both started when they heard the wail that came from Alyss, the young woman was standing nearby with her hands clapped over her mouth. Pauline went to embrace her student and looked back at Thomas, her eyes brimming with tears but her voice as strong as ever.

"Thank you for telling us, Thomas. We will head that way immediately…Have a good night."

The healer recognized the dismissal, and nodded in return before letting himself out.

One of the worst parts about being a doctor was telling someone's friends and family that something dreadful had happened to their loved one. It never got easier.

Lost in his thoughts, he headed slowly back to his own study, where a decanter full of brandy waited to settle his churning mind.

o0o_o0o_o0o

Lady Pauline was quite distressed.

Her apprentice's love interest was grievously injured, and on top of that, the boy also happened to be _her_ _own_ love interest's apprentice…

The two people she cared most about in the world were both grieving over the same person, and she knew she had to be there to support both of them.

…

It was shortly after Thomas had departed - when she had stopped crying - that Alyss had snapped back to her old pragmatic self and asked for a few minutes to "go do something". Pauline had nodded, a bit bewildered, but she trusted Alyss not to run off or do any other irrational thing.

And that is how Alyss ended up knocking on the door to Baron Arald's private study.

The man had opened the door personally, and had been surprised to look down and find one of his wards looking up at him with tear-stained cheeks and a determined expression.

"Good God, Alyss! What's happened, child? You look quite -"

But Alyss cut him off. Politely, though, of course.

"Baron, sir, please! Master Thomas has just come from Halt's cabin and he says Will was hurt this morning…said that his leg…they amputated it…", her voice broke on the last three words and tears started falling again despite her best efforts.

The Baron stared down at her in shock, clearly horrified by the news. Perhaps if it had been any of the other wards telling him this, he would have cuffed them on the head and assumed it was just a sick joke…But he knew Alyss didn't play games like that. And most especially not about Will.

"I…I'm so sorry, Alyss…What would you ask of me?"

"Please, sir! I - I was wondering if…you see, the beds the rangers have…they're so hard…and I just…Will is hurt and I thought…"

The old man looked puzzled for a second and then a light seemed to come on inside his head.

"A bed? You want a better bed for Will?"

"Yes sir! Please sir…It's just, with him recovering, and the pain he's going through, I thought…it might help…" she sniffled and the Baron gave in. He could never say no to a crying youngster.

"Say no more, Alyss! I will have a feather mattress sent over this evening for young Will." and then he smiled down at her fondly. "Will is lucky to belong to a girl like you, Alyss. Watch over him, for me, would you? And give him my best when he wakes?"

She nodded quickly in gratitude, vaguely wondering how Baron Arald knew she and Will were _fond_ of each other, but she had the good sense not to ask. The portly man drew back to dismiss her, but not before sending her a wink.

"Alright child, be on your way, I'll take care of the rest."

He heard a faint "Thank you" as the door quietly clicked closed.

Once back inside, he clasped his hands together momentarily before ringing the bell for his assistant - he had some arrangements to make.

o0o_o0o_o0o

Alyss returned from her mystery errand about 15 minutes after she had left, which earned her an inquisitive glance from her mistress.

After a sigh, she softly began to explain herself, while silently hoping Lady Pauline wouldn't be upset with her for her forwardness…

"I went to see the Baron…I asked him for a new bed for Will…I just thought that since they sleep on planks and - "

But Pauline understood and raised her hand to hush her apprentice.

"I see, you don't need to explain it to me, Alyss. I approve of your actions…", then she continued in her rarely used _informal_ tone, "I've been telling Halt for years that those 'beds' of his aren't fit for a dog, let alone humans…"

The older woman looked up in Alyss's direction, hoping to see a smile on the girl's face, but her attempt at humor hadn't done much.

Then she added, "That was considerate of you, Alyss. Will will surely appreciate it when he wakes up."

When. Not if.

…

So now the pair of tall women set out from the castle in the back of one of the Baron's own carriages. Once the man had heard about what had happened to Will - the boy who had once saved his life - he had ordered a carriage of supplies be sent to Halt's cabin. The load was filled with medicines, bandages, soft fur blankets, a thick feather mattress, and some new clothes for Will - made from precious dyed silks.

Alyss tried her best not to think about the crates of medical supplies - and the fact that they were for a _wounded_ Will - and instead chose to inspect and refold the soft clothes that had been sent for her friend. It wouldn't do to have them wrinkled.

The buggy arrived a quarter of an hour later, and Alyss was surprised to see Halt sitting on the porch with Gilan. Neither man was talking, instead they both just looked tired and gaunt. However, the men's expressions did seem to lighten a little upon their arrival.

Lady Pauline gracefully climbed out of the carriage as Alyss hopped over the side in an undignified sort of way. But no one was really paying attention at the moment. It was hard to care about proper behavior and image when a dear friend had just been gravely wounded.

Halt stood and waited for Pauline as her apprentice darted past them and into the house, Gilan was already making his way to the carriage to retrieve some of the supplies they were expecting.

Everyone had something on their mind and none seemed to be in the mood for small talk.

"How is he?", Pauline asked when she was finally standing in front of Halt, "And how are you?"

"It's…God, it's awful, Pauline. I - I don't know…", his eyes were downcast as he spoke. He was taking this harder than she imagined he would.

And the fact that he didn't even _try_ to act aloof and confident, as he usually did, scared her.

"And you?", she asked again.

"What about me? I'm not the one who lost a leg today…"

"No," she took his hand in hers as she spoke, "but Will did. And he is not _just_ an apprentice to you, we both know that…I know how hard this is for you, he's like your son, Halt…you're allowed to grieve. No one will think less of you for it. Least of all me."

The grizzled old ranger felt tears burning in his eyes. His whole world had crashed around him today, but Pauline was standing there with him now, a stone for him to cling to, and he grasped onto her for dear life.

It surprised Pauline when Halt stepped forward and embraced her tightly, pressing his face into her hair and letting the tears finally fall. But she said nothing, she simply hugged him in return and whispered in his ear, "We are a family, and we'll get through this together."

o0o_o0o_o0o

Gilan and the carriage driver had unloaded the supplies into the house while Halt was outside speaking with Pauline - the ranger had been so preoccupied with everything going on in his mind that he had failed to notice the work going on around him.

Which explained why the old ranger had looked so surprised when he had entered his cabin and spotted the luxurious feather mattress that had just been carried inside.

The room fell quiet and everyone's eyes were on him as he looked at it. It was clear that they knew he saw things like that as extravagancies…and they all must have thought he wouldn't allow it.

But what they didn't know was that this whole ordeal had softened his heart quite a bit, and he knew it would do well for Will to have something like that…God knew the boy was suffering enough as it was.

He just wished he had thought to get it for him.

As his mind processed everything, he suddenly became aware that Alyss was looking at him intently, her head held high and a haughty expression on her face - almost challenging Halt to try to send the mattress away. She looked quite ready to do battle.

But Halt just smiled and held up his hands in mock defeat, quietly noting how much Alyss had become like Pauline, and finally he spoke.

"Apprentices these days…Oh well, I suppose we should get Will tucked into his new bed before I change my mind…"

Alyss and Pauline responded at the same time, in matching icy voices -

"You wouldn't dare."

…

Halt and Gilan were in Halt's bedroom - where Will had been since the operation - the men had been tasked with dressing the still-unconscious Will in the soft clothes that Alyss and Pauline had brought. While in the meantime, the two ladies had been in Will's room readying the new bed and trying to make it as comfortable as possible.

Alyss had done most of the work, though her mind was consumed with worrying about Will.

As she fluffed the pillows, she mused that he would probably think he had died when he woke up, simply because the bed was so far beyond anything Halt would typically allow.

She hoped he liked it…She just wanted him to he healthy, and happy, and comfortable…and currently he was none of those things. Tears prickled her eyes again, but she rubbed them away and hastily worked to finish her chore.

It wasn't long before everyone had completed their tasks and it was time to get Will situated.

Halt appeared quietly in the doorway carrying Will in his arms bridal style. The older man had refused when Gilan had tried to help, saying _'I got him, I got him'_ in his characteristic clipped tone.

Pauline had moved forward and pulled the covers back, and Alyss had made sure Will's clothing wasn't bunched up as he was deposited onto the bed. Gilan picked up Will's truncated leg so that Halt could place a fresh towel underneath it.

And finally, they all looked down at the young man on the bed…

His hair was damp with sweat and his skin was frighteningly pale. There were dark shadows beneath his eyes and the veins under his skin stood out more than they should have. His hands rested limply beside him and his leg…it was wrapped in thick white bandages with patches of crimson already blossoming along the base.

Alyss hadn't seen him like this yet - when she had dashed inside to see him earlier, he had been in a darkened room, covered by thick blankets, and she had been too busy hugging him to really take much notice of the _reason_ he was potentially on death's door.

Pauline was taken aback as well, the boy before them looked more dead than alive, and for the first time, she felt the gravity of the situation pulling her down. And then her eyes moved from the wounded apprentice to his worried master.

Halt was staring at Will, his eyes bloodshot and brimming with tears. His usually steady hands were shaking and she saw the way his adam's apple bobbed in his throat…He looked to be on the verge of collapse himself. She wanted to fix him so badly, but she currently was at a loss.

Gilan was quiet, standing in the corner with his head bowed as if he was praying…

Alyss couldn't look away, though. She had never seen an amputation up close before. Even under the fresh bandages, it was so strange to see his leg just…end. But she wasn't disgusted by it, as she feared she might be. It was just a part of him now - and she could live with that, as long as _he_ lived.

Suddenly, she felt the need to touch some part of him…

So despite the people around and the fact that she was normally quite shy about such things, Alyss stepped forward and took Will's hand in her own, softly rubbing her thumb over the backs of his fingers in a soothing way. The adults in the room looked on sadly before Pauline cleared her throat and looked at Halt and Gilan.

"Well…I could do with some coffee, and you two look like you could as well." then she turned to Alyss, "Would you mind watching over Will for us? We'll be just outside the door if either of you need us."

Alyss nodded, her eyes never leaving Will's face.

Halt and Gilan shuffled from the room as Lady Pauline paused to study the two young people for a moment. She could see that Alyss felt for Will the way she herself felt for Halt, and she assumed that the young woman probably needed some time alone with Will - as she needed some time alone with Halt.

…

As the door shut and she heard the sound of footsteps retreating, Alyss relaxed - mentally thanking her mentor for allowing her some private time with Will.

Still holding Will's hand, she gracefully sat on the edge of his bed, looking into his pale face. She longed to see those warm brown eyes open and hear his laugh. Her other hand reached up and carded gently through his hair, brushing the soft locks away from his forehead so she could lean down and place a kiss there.

In that moment, with her lips pressed to his skin and her eyes closed, she made a promise to herself and the heavens:

 _Will was going to live. He would become a ranger. And someday, they would be married._

They would make it through this.

"I love you, Will…"


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Sorry about the wait for this one, guys! And sorry in advance for any errors - I was lacking inspiration and so this chapter was sorta thrown together...I apologize if it sucks. As always, thank you to those of you who read, follow, favorite, or review! That really keeps me motivated! Ok, I'll shut up now...ENJOY!**

Halt's eyes rested on Will. It felt like he had looked at nothing else in days…probably because he hadn't.

As he studied the pale features and shallow breathing of his apprentice, he felt tears spring to his eyes.

This was his fault. If only he'd been faster. If only he had stayed on the veranda with Will. If only he had sent Will inside the house. If only he had let Will go with Gilan.

Things would have been so much better if only…if only…

But what good were those thoughts now? He had failed Will, and now Will was crippled for life.

He reached forward and grasped one of his apprentice's limp hands in his own. The skin was rough and a touch too warm, but he could feel the life contained within all the same.

"Oh, Will…I'm so sorry…"

The tears, held back for too long, started to fall when Will didn't respond…What he wouldn't give to hear a silly question from the boy lying in front of him.

This whole experience had drastically changed the gruff older ranger. Where he had once been cold and emotionless, he was now… _softer_. More sentimental and thoughtful.

And now all those times in the past when he had scolded Will for his incessant talking seemed so foolish to him…Alas, no one ever stops to appreciate their blessings until they experience life without them.

His thoughts were briefly interrupted when Will took a shuddering breath, the sound was frighteningly weak and Halt closed his eyes as his emotions threatened to overcome him...This was one of the rare times in his life when he felt truly helpless. All he could do right now was pray that when his apprentice woke up, he would still be _Will._

But the unevenness at the foot of the bed did nothing to foster his hope.

o0o_o0o_o0o

The rest of the day had passed much the same as the days before it. That is, until night fell.

Halt had been dozing in his chair by Will's bedside when he was suddenly woken by the change in the younger man's breathing. Where before it had been in a steady pattern of sleep, it had changed to the sporadic puffs of someone who was awake and in a great deal of pain.

He quickly abandoned his seat and rose to stand beside Will, surprised to find the young man's eyes were already open.

However, when he looked closely, he saw that they were unseeing, glazed over by pain and fever. The sweat from his brow had already dampened his face and neck, and his skin was deathly pale. _How had he not sensed something was wrong?_

Without removing his eyes from Will's, Halt let out a yell in his strongest voice, "Gilan! Gilan, come quickly!"

They needed the physician, something was very wrong…

A second later the door burst open and Gilan was rushing to his side. The young man sucked air harshly through his teeth at the sight before him. He didn't want to say it, but he had seen men in this state before…it was common inside the healer's tent following a battle. It was the look that preceded death.

Halt had stopped thinking, he seemed to have frozen, his hand squeezing Will's as he tried to rouse the boy. But Will's gaze remained unfocused.

"Will?", Halt asked quietly, hoping against hope that Will would respond to him.

Nothing.

Instead of speaking, the injured young man began squirming weakly and his eyebrows drew together, his hand reflexively tightened around Halt's as he struggled against his awakening pain.

"Gilan," Halt began speaking quickly, "ride to Thomas as fast as you can. I don't care what he's doing, fetch him and bring him here at once!"

The tall ranger nodded before dashing from the room, leaping off the porch and vaulting onto Blaze. There was no time for a saddle or bridle, and the ranger horse understood why - whatever was happening, it meant life or death.

As they tore toward Redmont, Gilan hadn't even the time to wonder if the tears streaking into his hair were from the horse's blinding speed or his own fears.

o0o_o0o_o0o

It was fortunate that Thomas was a skilled rider, because there was no time for a cabby and doubling on Blaze was impossible.

Once Gilan had found him, the physician had taken one look at the ranger and he'd known what was wrong; Will had taken a turn for the worse.

He'd been swift in gathering his bag and now the two men were at the stable, mounting their respective steeds, Thomas's being a sleek and long-legged black gelding.

When they took off toward Halt's cabin, Gilan had been quite relieved when the black horse swiftly overtook him and disappeared into the distance with Thomas urging him on. For once, he was in a race that he hoped the other person would win.

The ranger said a prayer as he coaxed his tiring mount into a faster gallop - he prayed that Thomas would not arrive too late.

o0o_o0o_o0o

Halt heard the unfamiliar pounding of a heavy horse's hooves against the pathway leading to the cabin, and he relaxed ever so slightly. It must be Thomas. And he wasn't a moment too soon.

Will's fever was still growing, and his eyes were clouding over. His breathing was more and more labored with each breath he took, and Halt knew he wouldn't last much longer without help.

So when the door was thrown open and Thomas charged in with wild hair and a determined expression, Halt felt like crying out in relief.

"When did this start?" the healer barked out, and Halt struggled to find his voice.

"I'm not sure. I had Gilan send for you the moment I noticed, but it could have been as far back as an hour ago…"

Thomas shook his head without looking at Halt, he was busy holding Will's eyelids back to look at his pupils with one hand, while his other hand had two fingers pressed to the boy's neck. Whatever the physician saw or felt, it must not have boded well, because he winced at his findings.

"Will he live?", Halt asked in a small voice.

The other man sighed and shook his head again. He didn't want to answer because he truly did not _know_ the answer.

He said nothing as he ripped the covers back and began unbandaging Will's stump. Halt felt his heart palpitating erratically when Thomas pointedly dodged his question.

"When was the last time you changed the dressing?"

Halt felt new terror gnawing at his insides… _what if I did something wrong and this is my fault?_

"About 4 hours ago, he had bled through the dressings from this morning..."

Thomas was examining Will's leg closely with a sort of looking glass, he touched it with his fingers and spared a quick glance in Halt's direction before speaking again.

"The leg is infected, but I'm quite sure it had nothing to do with your bandaging of it - this sort of thing just happens with wounds like these.", he stood back and wiped his hands on a handkerchief, "I will do my best to break the fever and treat the infection if you'll permit me to work…But Halt..?" The man stopped what he was doing and turned to the other man, clasping his hands in front of him in a way that made Halt's heart sink. Halt simply looked at him, begging him silently to go on - because if he opened his mouth, he knew he might fall apart.

Thomas suddenly looked exhausted as he tried to find a way to say what he needed to say.

"Halt…He's lost a lot of blood. And the fever is high…I would be doing you a disservice if I told you that there is no chance he will die."

Halt stood still for a moment before looking away from Thomas and down to the dying boy on the bed. His apprentice. His _son_.

When he finally spoke, his voice was weak and thick with unshed tears, "Do your best, Thomas."

And with that, Halt left the room.

o0o_o0o_o0o

Gilan arrived almost ten minutes after Thomas had, but the ranger did not want to go into the house.

It was partially because he knew he would just be in the way - but also, out here, he was in a world where Will was alive. If he went into the house and discovered that Will had succumbed while he was gone…There was just no going back.

So he remained with the horses.

He busied himself by taking care of them. Starting with the black gelding that had so faithfully carried Thomas to Will's aid. The horse was still quite lathered, so Gilan gave him a much-deserved rubdown along with some water and an apple. Next, he groomed Blaze, thanking the horse quietly for once again carrying him safely on a mission. And lastly, he spent time with Tug.

The pony, who was usually the most animated of the group, seemed to know something was wrong with his boy. His large brown eyes never wavered from the small cottage, and even when Gilan offered him an apple, the shaggy little horse refused. He would not be distracted.

Tug seemed lost in his own world of unfortunate thoughts until the door to the house opened suddenly.

Two heads, one man and one beast, shot up to see who it was…and the same two hearts broke when they saw an older ranger stumble outside and drop to his knees - before letting loose a soul-rending sob.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hello again, I have another chapter for you all…and MAN, you guys** ** _really_** **don't want me to kill Will! Well, fear not, awesome reader - we have a long way to go and I'm not nearly done with our favorite ranger…muahahaha!**

o0o_o0o_o0o

It felt like a malevolent presence was squeezing Gilan's heart as he watched Halt, the strongest man he had ever known, collapse onto the porch in despair.

So, it was as he'd feared. Will _had_ died…

Despite the fact that he felt empty, cold, and shocked, the younger man knew he had to be there for his mentor. With a soft, consoling pat to the gray pony beside him, he slid from the stall and began walking slowly toward the porch where his friend knelt.

Halt was known for his stoic and sometimes downright frigid disposition, so to see the man crumbling like this was beyond alarming. It was terrifying.

It hadn't taken long for the long-legged ranger to reach his friend, and when he had, he found himself to be at a total loss for words.

How do you comfort a parent who had just lost a child?

You couldn't.

So instead, he settled for kneeling beside Halt, allowing his tears to fall unimpeded into his lap, before he reached out and grasped Halt's shoulder.

Apparently, Halt had not heard or seen Gilan's approach, lost as he was in grief, and so he started when the hand made contact with him. But he quickly slumped back into his tears once he had ascertained who was with him. Neither of them spoke for a few moments, and it was Gilan who finally broke the silence.

"Halt, I know he was like a son to you…I am so sorry…I don't -"

But Halt cut him off, not even bothering to look up. "He isn't dead. Not yet anyway. But…" the man's voice broke and he stopped talking. Gilan tilted his head, had he heard correctly? Will was alive?

His heart felt relieved, but even so…

"Well, if he's alive, then what's wrong? When I saw you come out of the house I assumed…"

Halt was shaking his head now, the movement sending tears like raindrops from his cheeks. He took a deep shuddering breath.

"Thomas…he say's there isn't much hope. And Will…he's ruined, and it's all my -"

"No!" Gilan barked, suddenly enough to make Halt jump, "Don't you _dare_ say that this was your fault, Halt! I thought you were smarter than that! You didn't shoot Will, did you? You didn't know what would happen! You saved him, that's all you did… _So don't you dare blame yourself_."

When Halt didn't appear to hear him, Gilan dropped his tone to be more calming.

"I saw you running for the castle, Halt. I saw how hard you worked to save him and bring the healer here - and you _did_! Will is _alive_ , Halt, he's breathing and fighting _right now_! And besides, since when have you cared about the odds? Since when have the odds held you or Will back? Be strong for Will, don't give up…Don't fail him now."

The gray ranger had stilled some during Gilan's tirade, his sobs had subsided and his face was returning to it's normal steely expression. He nodded slightly and stared at his hands. Gilan thought for a split second that he looked like a sad toddler, before pushing the thought away (in case Halt read his mind somehow and pummeled him for thinking such a thing).

"Come on, Let's go see if Thomas needs any help."

And with that, Gilan rose and extended a hand down to Halt, who looked up at his full-grown former apprentice, and smiled.

o0o_o0o_o0o

Upon their reentry into the small cabin, the ranger's found the healer in full tilt trying to get Will's fever down.

The young man was lying prone on the bed, wearing nothing but a shorter pair of trousers, and it was clear that the fever was still raging on. He looked like he had been doused in water, and he was shivering violently.

Thomas looked over his shoulder at them and then called to no one in particular "Quickly, in my bag there's a small leather pouch, find the packet marked 'F-CT' and mix it with water. He needs something for the fever and I'm a little busy with his leg…"

Gilan took it upon himself to find the aforementioned packet, since Halt appeared to be lost in thought, and once he had it, he quickly set it into a cup and added some warm water. When the tea was ready, he walked - a little shakily - over to the physician. This was all still too surreal.

"Let me see…good, that'll be fine…could you get him to drink it? Halt can help you."

In a second, Halt was by his side, still looking lost, but now his eyes also glinted with determination.

Through their many years together as master and apprentice, as well as friends and colleagues, the pair of ranger's had developed a certain unity that allowed them to complete tasks without any spoken planning. They saw what they needed to do, and what the other needed to do, and they did it.

Thomas was suitably impressed by this ability and their efficiency when both men moved to Will's bedside without any unnecessary chatter. It was like they did this sort of thing every day.

Gilan held the cup in his hand and waited as Halt gently lifted the unconscious Will up into a semi-reclined position. Then he moved forward to pour the liquid into Will's lolling mouth. Thomas looked on approvingly from the foot of the bed as Halt supported Will's head and neck and lightly stroked the front of Will's throat with his thumb to coax him to swallow.

They were surprisingly careful for such rough men, and it brought a smile to his face to see how much they cared for their young friend.

After that, once Will had consumed all the tea, Thomas asked Halt to help him make a solution for Will's leg...

It was a smelly thing, but not as horrible as some of the other medicinal concoctions Halt had been subjected to in his day. He noted there was quite a bit of wine involved, as well as oxgall, and garlic. And when it was finally ready, they simply dropped Will's affected leg into the liquid and let it sit there.

"I haven't many options at this stage," Thomas began quietly, almost apologetically, "the best I can do for him now is treat the fever and try to kill as much of the infection as I can. After the leg soaks for a bit, I think we can apply some bandages dipped in wine to the wound. That should help at least a little."

Halt simply nodded and went to sit by Will's bed. Now that things were a bit calmer, there was something he wanted to do…

"Could I have a moment alone with Will?"

His voice was noticeably strained, and the other two men nodded and quietly retreated from the room. When he had heard the door click and the muted tones of a quiet conversation in the living room, he returned his attention to Will.

Lady Pauline had given him some advice when she had departed with Alyss a few days prior. She had told him to talk to Will, to tell the young apprentice how he truly felt about him. She had said it could help them both. It seemed silly to him. Sort of…But he would try anything at this point.

As he mulled over what to say, he couldn't help but feel a little awkward. Opening up was not really something he was particularly adept at. Still, he had to start somewhere…

"You've been asleep for days now, Will…It's not the same without you here," he paused, trying to tell if anyone could hear him from outside. He couldn't stand the thought of pouring his heart out - but he needed to. For both their sakes.

"I love you, Will. You should know that - I…I know I never say it, and maybe I should…but you mean everything me. Even more than this," he reached up and unclasped his silver oakleaf from around his neck, fingering it for a moment before placing it into one of Will's hands. He carefully closed Will's fingers around the pendant, and then he squeezed the hand within his own.

"Feel that, Will? It's the symbol of everything I am. Of everything _you_ are. When you wake up, I will not fail you. You _will_ have a silver oakleaf. We will go on missions together…and…and I'll be prouder of you then…even more than I am of you now." his voice had dropped to a whisper, and the tears were falling steadily now.

He closed his eyes and leaned his head forward, resting it against his hands that still held Will tightly in their grasp. He had cried more in the last several days than the whole of the rest of his life combined, but he was not ashamed of that fact. Because love is not something to be ashamed of, and he did love his apprentice. Will deserved every single tear that was shed for him.  
...

It was some time later when he finally lifted his head up, and when he did, his heart momentary stopped beating.

Will's half-lidded brown eyes, still clouded with pain, were looking at him.

Halt was too stunned and too overcome with emotion to speak, which was fine, because Will spoke first anyway - his voice nothing more than a whisper.

"Love you, too…Halt…"


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Yay! Another chapter for you guys! Enjoy!**

Will's lucidity had been short-lived, but Halt clung to the words the boy had uttered like a life line.

As Halt had watched Will's eyes close, he couldn't help but smile through his tears. Because now he knew that Will knew he was loved.

It was devastating to even think about, but at least if Will were to pass away, he would go knowing the truth about Halt's feelings. And that simple fact brought an immeasurable amount of peace to his soul.

 _Lady Pauline had been right_ , he mused. The stone-faced ranger grinned despite himself when he thought about that woman. He hoped she would be coming by soon with young Alyss - he would be sure to tell her then that her advice had worked.

With Will back under, and the room to himself, Halt quickly lost himself in thought. He would worry about Will, daydream about Pauline, and then worry about Will some more.

So it was a welcome distraction when the door creaked open and Gilan appeared, looking more exhausted than Halt had ever seen him.

"How is he?"

The older man sighed, and leaned back in his chair, his rough hands reached up and rubbed at his eyes.

"The fever appears to be slowing down. He was awake for a brief moment a while ago…"

Gilan's eyebrows rose and he looked at Will who was out cold.

"That's a good sign, at least. I hope that means he'll be waking up soon. He's already lost some weight, he needs a proper meal. I fear what the bloodloss and lack of adequate nutrition will do to his body if he doesn't come around soon…"

Halt simply nodded.

Since Will's injury, words seemed to affect Halt more, and the comment seemed to have sent him into deep thought.

Gilan could tell he was fretting over the boy. A ranger's life was hard, and the apprenticeship was no easy undertaking, either. So both the rangers understood the threat that Will's new disability posed to his future in their organization…The muscle atrophy, weight loss, and amputation would be more than difficult to overcome.

Not _impossible_ …just excruciatingly onerous.

There was a knock at the door and Thomas walked in a moment later. He appeared less frazzled since Will had stabilized somewhat. But he knew this ordeal was far from over.

"Will is still in need of care, so I thought I would offer to stay here with him in case something else were to happen, or we could have him taken to the castle infirmary. But either way, at this stage, he needs constant supervision. As his master, I'll leave the decision up to you, Halt."

The reply was almost instantaneous.

"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather him stay here." Then after a beat, "Just in case…a ranger should be at his home."

The two other men nodded respectfully.

"Very well, then I'll be riding back to Redmont for some supplies, but I shall return within a couple of hours."

Halt paused for a second as Thomas started to leave the room, thinking over something in his head, then he turned and called after the physician.

"Thomas?", his voice a little self-conscious sounding.

The man's head appeared back in the doorway, "Yes, Halt? Is there something I should get for you?"

"I - well…yes." he stammered, a little flustered, "If you see Lady Pauline, could you request her presence here in the morning?"

The other man smiled kindly, though it was a knowing sort of expression. Perhaps _too_ knowing.

"Of course. I'll leave a message with her young apprentice, perhaps they can both come for a visit…Alyss is her name, correct?"

Gilan had been smirking in the corner during the short exchange, and he simply could not let the opportunity pass to say something that would embarrass his former mentor.

"That's right!" he chimed in cheerfully, "I'm glad you remembered! She should come as well - I'd hate for Will to be visitorless while Halt is visiting with _his_ lady!"

Thomas identified the jab, and he hid his own grin as he bowed out of the room quickly without a word. Despite the heaviness of the current situation, he still found himself having to stifle a chuckle when he heard the sound of something being thrown, followed by a muffled _THUNK_ and a groan a moment later.

He shook his head as he closed the door to the cabin behind him.

 _Ranger's…_

 _o0o_o0o_o0o_

Thomas had returned later and had set up a cot in Will's room so he could monitor his condition - but only after he had laid down the law with Halt and Gilan. But mainly Halt.

Both men had been refusing to leave Will's bedside, even avoiding sleep, and it was starting to show. Not to mention the room was small, and all 4 men could not very well stay in there together.

 _"_ _Now, don't look at me like that, Halt!"_

After being told to get out and go to sleep, the ranger had bristled like a rooster ready for a brawl, but Thomas had remained unperturbed, "You may be able to best me in a round of fisticuffs, ranger, but I could still knock you out for days with a few drops of my elixirs! Now - off with you!"

Halt had retreated with much grumbling and muttered swear words, but within ten minutes, Thomas could hear quiet snores filtering from the ranger's bedroom.

After that, he checked over Will. The boy appeared to be stable, the coriander tea was helping the fever, and his stump was less swollen and angry-looking.

He finished giving Will a new bandage and drizzled a few drops of pain-relieving tonic into his mouth before standing back to examine the boy's overall appearance.

His skin was still pale, and the skin around his eyes was darkened and thin, but somehow, he seemed stronger. Thomas felt less hopeless with that thought, and before he began to settle in for the night, he patted Will on the hand.

"There are an awful lot of people who care deeply for you, boy. So hold on, I think they would be lost without you."

As he changed into his night clothes, Thomas thought about his current situation. He was finding it hard not to grow fond of these peculiar rangers, and though he didn't really know Will, he could see the love and devotion he had earned from some truly great people.

So he vowed to himself and the boy in the bed across the room that he would try his damnedest not to fail this mission. With a new sense of resolve, he blew out the candles and prepared himself for a new day.

o0o_o0o_o0o

Lady Pauline and Alyss were both punctual as ever, as they arrived at 8am sharp the following morning.

Halt and Gilan, however, were both sawing logs when the two couriers arrived.

Instead, they were greeted by the physician, as he was stepped outside quickly to give both women an update on Will, as well as the other rangers sleeping inside.

"Good morning, Thomas," Lady Pauline began "How is Will doing today?"

They young woman beside her was clearly anxious, her eyes were locked on the window to the house, trying to see inside.

"He gave us a right good scare yesterday, spiked a horrid fever from an infection in his leg, but he's doing a bit better this morning."

The girl, Alyss, looked like she couldn't remain outside for another moment, so Thomas quickly added, "I believe we can go inside, I'll go and wake the rangers, I was trying to let them sleep as long as possible…I sense they're both insomniacs…"

Lady Pauline's eyes flashed with humor for a split second before she let a carefully guarded smile grace her face.

"Don't wake them on our account, we have the day to spend here and I have a feeling both Halt and Gilan need their sleep."

"Welllll," came a voice from around the side of the house, clearly garbled by a large yawn, "I'm up, but I agree, Halt could do with some beauty sleep."

"Gilan!" Alyss cried with joy, she was always happy to see the tall ranger, he often brought much needed humor to dreary situations.

"Here," he said again, rubbing sleep from his eyes, "Let's go in, I'll make us some coffee and you can visit Will…"

With the conversation back to the injured young apprentice, smiles faded, and the small crowd started to make their way into the equally small cabin in silence.

Once they were inside, Lady Pauline sat in the chair beside Halt's empty seat.

"I could do with some tea, Gilan, if you don't mind. Thomas, why don't you tell me a bit about Will and his treatments…" and then she looked at Alyss, careful to appear aloof, "This room is awfully small, dear, I fear we may overcrowd it. Why don't you make your way into Will's room and we'll be along shortly."

She saw the grateful smile on Alyss's face and masked her own grin. She may be stoic on the outside, but she was not heartless or oblivious. The girl had been a distracted wreck since Will had been injured, and she knew the reason for it.

…They needed the time alone together.

After her own apprentice had disappeared, a very tired looking Halt appeared in the kitchen, seemingly out of thin air. His hair was carefully brushed, unlike most days, and Gilan made sure to point it out when he turned around and noticed.

"Halt! I haven't seen your hair brushed in _years_! What's the special occasion?!" his mischievous eyes looked pointedly at Lady Pauline.

But at the glare on the older ranger's face, Gilan quickly scampered away to fetch some water - absentmindedly rubbing the newly formed bruise on his arm.

Lady Pauline, however, pretended not to notice their antics.

"Good morning, Halt, you're looking well today."

It brought her pleasure to watch his face redden, and she followed the greeting with a warm smile.

"And you are as beautiful as ever, Lady Pauline."

She couldn't help but notice his usual childlike giddiness in her presence was somewhat subdued, though. This was harder on him than people imagined…She was one of the few people who knew how much he loved his apprentice.

Thomas, noticing the atmosphere, made himself scarce - muttering something about feeding his horse before exiting the house completely. They were alone now, and both knew they could speak unguarded.

"How are you doing…truthfully?" Pauline asked, her voice caring and soft.

The gray ranger looked at her. His eyes searching deep into her own.

"I'm doing better than Will," he said, which earned him a half-hearted glare.

"It's hard, Pauline…I talked to him yesterday. I took your advice…"

"And?"

"And you were right,"

He looked up briefly to see her smiling, she added quietly "Of course." which earned her a wry smile from Halt.

"Of course." he ceded.

" _And?_ " she prodded again.

"I told him…I told him I love him…and he woke up, just for a moment…he - said he loved me too…"

The man's voice was thick with tears, it wavered and quaked as he tried to power through his emotions. Forever worried that he would appear weak, he was oblivious to the fact that Pauline thought it was the strongest he had ever sounded.

And then she was standing in front of him, pulling him into a tight embrace.

"I'm proud of you." she whispered in his ear, and he leaned against her.

"I'm so glad you're here," he muttered into her shoulder, "I can't do this alone."

Lady Pauline stepped back from him then, and grabbed his face between her elegant hands, she stared into his eyes.

"Listen to me, Halt O'Carrick. You will _never_ be alone."

His eyes burned a little as he stared back at the intensity in hers, and he managed a nod. He knew she meant it.

"Now," she said with a slight sniff, "let's go check on our apprentices, shall we?"

"My thoughts exactly, my dear."

o0o_o0o_o0o

For all the times that Alyss had cursed the seemingly all-seeing eyes of her mistress, today was grateful for them.

She was aware that Lady Pauline knew of her _feelings_ for Will, but it made her happy to know that she also supported those feelings. Like Will, Alyss had no parents, and her mistress was like her mother. It would have bothered her if their relationship wasn't something Pauline approved of.

As she slid into Will's bedroom, she was smiling to herself at how Lady Pauline had craftily allowed her some private time with her friend.

But the smile was quick to vanish as soon as her eyes landed on Will.

It took her breath away to see him like this. It had been days since their last visit, and it terrified her to see that Will looked worse.

She was beside him in a second, and the next, she was grasping his too-warm hand in hers and staring intently at his face.

"Oh, _Will_ ," she began, tears already springing to her eyes, "I'm right here, Will. I hope you know that…I'll always be here."

She sat down on the bed beside him, and at that moment, she only had one thought on her mind.

"I love you, Will…" she whispered, "I love you, I love you, I love you. Do you hear, me? I'll say it ten thousand times, I love you! So don't you dare go where I can't follow you…" and without really thinking about it, she leaned down and kissed him.

After she pulled back, she found her tears had fallen onto his face, and she reached up to brush them away with her fingers. She had secretly hoped that that would wake him up…

It was a second later when the door began to open that Alyss snapped out of it and lurched off the bed, pulling her hand back like she had been scalded.

Halt walked in followed by Pauline (who was thinking about how un-smooth her apprentice was if she was trying to pretend like she hadn't been touching Will), and not thirty seconds later, Gilan and Thomas came in as well.

Alyss was red in the face and had the look of a teenager caught in the act, which she feared would be mentioned - and it might have been, had a soft voice not spoken from behind her.

"Alyss…?"

She whipped around, eyes wild as she stared at the boy in the bed. _Her_ boy.

"Yes! Will, it's me? See?" She grabbed his hand and kissed it, leaning in so he could see her.

Halt and Gilan also came forward, wanting to see their friend.

"Halt…Gil..? What…"

o0o_o0o_o0o

He felt horribly warm. Fuzzy. Tired. Something hurt. But something else felt…nice? He heard a voice, he knew he did…But everything was dark. It sounded far away…Where was he?

It hurt to think, and that bothered him. He wanted to know why, but couldn't without feeling that deep thrumming ache in his head. And his leg.

What was going on?

There were sounds somewhere. Overhead, maybe…Too far away to know who it was. But maybe they were getting closer - the voices were getting louder. His head really hurt. And so did his leg…

Some part of him was angry and frustrated. His brain was stuck, like it was locked in a box with only a few thoughts to sift through.

Damn, his leg really did hurt…

And then suddenly, there was light. It wasn't bright, but it seemed to be. There were voices around him, familiar voices. They made him think of friendship, and autumn leaves, and the smell of a campfire…and a golden-haired girl that he'd known since his childhood…

"Alyss…?"

It was more of a thought, his brain putting things together, but his brain was still muddled, so the thought came out of his mouth.

He was surprised to hear that voice again. _Her_ voice!

 _"_ _Yes! Will, it's me? See?",_ he heard her say.

And then he _saw_ her. She was standing over him, he saw her hair falling around her face, she was holding his hand, and he wanted to smile…but his leg hurt.

And then he saw two more faces. They both looked sad, and worried…the older one had tears in his eyes…Halt! and then…Gilan?

He realized he was speaking his thoughts out loud again. His eyes jumped around the room because his body wasn't even remotely responding to him. Where was he…Why did his leg hurt…

Then suddenly things started to make more sense.

He was in a bed. A bed softer than anything he had ever laid in before. His closest friends were around him, and they all looked sad…and _desperate._ His head pounded and his leg was growing more painful by the second.

He had gotten hurt.

His stomach sunk at the realization. He tried to think back to the last thing he remembered, but all he could recall was darkness.

How long…

"Almost a week," a male voice said from somewhere in the room. Gilan. That was Gilan's voice.

He must have been thinking out loud again.

"My leg hurts…"

It was the most pressing thing in his mind, it wouldn't go away.

The room got quiet.

Then a deeper voice spoke. Halt's voice. He said something Will didn't hear.

He heard footsteps and the sound of a door closing. What was going on…?

A second later, Halt was leaning over him, his hand on his cheek.

"Do you want to sit up, Will?" his voice was gentle.

Will tried his best to nod, he guessed Halt got the message, because a moment later, he was being gently lifted up and was leaned back on a pile of pillows. It hurt his leg to move.

His vision swam for a second, he'd been laying down too long…Then Halt was there, sitting on the edge of his bed. His eyes were still sad, but his mouth was smiling. Odd.

When he opened his mouth to speak, Halt cut him off.

"Will, I have to tell you something…" he paused, Will waited for him to continue.

"I have a story to tell you, Will…" Halt knew his apprentice was addled from sleep and fever and pain, and this was the gentlest way he could think to break the news.

And break the news he must.

"Do you remember Gilan?" Will nodded after thinking for a moment. "Well, Gilan went on a mission to catch a killer. You and I stayed here, at our cabin near Redmont…It was morning, on the day you got hurt…" Will's eyes were big like a child's as he listened to his teacher. He thought he was starting to remember.

"I got hurt…bad?" he asked, Halt nodded.

"Yes, you were hurt badly. You were outside on the porch, I was inside. You heard something in the barn and called for me…"

Will's eyes looked distant now. He remembered.

"I got shot…i-in my leg." It was a statement, not a question. Halt nodded again, patient and calm - though his heart was slamming against his chest and he felt dizzy. How would Will react…

"The killer, the one Gilan was chasing…He was here. He shot you in the leg. You killed him, it was a good shot. But the arrow he shot you with, it did too much damage. I ran to Redmont, and brought a healer. But…"

Will was looking at Halt now, his eyes were intent and scared. What was Halt so afraid to tell him…

"Will…your leg…it's gone."


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Sorry about the earlier "update"! The file i uploaded was corrupted but I didn't know until after I posted...AND I had stupidly done HALF my final editing in the document editor on this website. It all got lost. And I didn't have it saved on my computer before I uploaded *face palm* I had to go back and rewrite a bunch of this. Lesson learned, however…**

 **ANYWAY - Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! Your encouragement is helping me keep my momentum on this. Here is chapter 7 (hopefully UNcorrupted)! *double checking right now that I saved it elsewhere***

 **PS: I'm going to slap a trigger warning on here for depression and suicidal ideation. Yeah, I know, I'm terrible.**

o0o_o0o_o0o

As he watched his apprentice attempting to process the fact that his lower leg was gone, Halt felt sick.

He had spent the previous days trying to prepare himself for this moment, but he felt utterly lost.

Will was still reeling, alternating between looking at his mentor, then staring at the now painfully obvious blank space at the end of his bed.

Even within the panic written on every line of the young man's face, Halt could see the light fading from his very spirit as the reality sunk in.

…

It was gone. His foot, his future, his freedom. Gone.

Will could not believe this. It wasn't real. With a surge of adrenaline, the young man reached down and tugged his blankets away, exposing his legs.

The one on the left looked as it always had, he absently wiggled his toes and watched the predictable movement - which made it all the more appalling when his eyes scanned to the right and saw nothing. Nothing but his knee, and beneath that, heavy bandages.

The pitiful sound he emitted was enough to break Halt's already battered heart into even smaller pieces. It was a pained, primal sound - akin more to a dying animal than a human boy.

"Will," Halt said, careful to keep his eyes on the young man's face and away from his _disability_ "you'll be okay. We will get through this…I promise…"

But Will didn't hear anything aside from the loud rushing sound in his ears. This wasn't real. This was a nightmare and he was going to wake up any minute. It couldn't be true.

Halt reached out and put his hand on Will's shoulder, squeezing it to break the boy out of his daze. He could see the panic reaching a boiling point. This was not good...

"Will, breathe. Breathe, with me, calm down. Look at me, Will."

Halt sat on the edge of the bed and leaned in sideways, doing his best to block Will from the sight of his leg. The boy was starting to hyperventilate.

Will's eye's were almost wild when they locked onto Halt's face - searching for the answer that would make this all seem okay. But Halt looked just as lost as he felt…It was too much for him.

He snapped.

Before he knew what he was doing, the injured apprentice had weakly shoved Halt away with shaking hands.

All he knew in that moment was that something was very, very wrong, he was in pain, and he didn't want anyone to see him this way - least of all Halt.

"Get out!", he cried at the old ranger, his voice hoarse and feeble, "Get out! I don't…don't want you here!"

Will was gasping for air now, and his brown eyes were unfocused. Halt was completely frozen as he witnessed the breakdown. He had never seen Will like this before…

The man reached for him slowly, but Will didn't want to be touched or _comforted_. He used his last bit of failing energy to slap the man's hand away, before he slumped back onto the pillows in exhaustion, panting hard.

"Go away…" he whispered once more, as the heavy breaths turned into deep, wracking sobs.

A second later, he was alone.

o0o_o0o_o0o

The small crowd of people in the living room had grown silent when they heard the first of Will's anguished cries.

At that moment, all they could do was sit idly by, waiting and listening. No one knew how Will was going to take the news.

But they didn't have to wait long to figure it out. Because Halt emerged from the room a few moments later - before he disappeared into his own without so much as a glance in their direction.

So it was bad...

Alyss was the first to act, charging back into Will's room, followed closely by Thomas.

Pauline and Gilan shared a look before they both went to Halt's bedroom to check on the older man - and hopefully find out what had gone wrong.

o0o_o0o_o0o

Will was lying on his back, breathing hard, and staring at the ceiling when Alyss and the physician walked through the door.

As she took in the sight of her friend, her eye's quickly zeroed in on the tears gliding from the corners of his eyes straight back into his hair, soaking into his pillow.

He was hurt, obviously, but his extreme distress was what Alyss found most unsettling in that moment.

While she hesitated, Thomas politely stepped around her to get to his patient.

"Will?" Thomas asked the boy beside him as he reached into his bag for a couple of elixirs; one for pain and the other a calming agent. A powerful one.

He got no response.

"Will, I am a healer from Castle Redmont. I'm going to give you something for the pain, do you understand?"

Will blinked, but didn't respond otherwise. Alyss watched on with teary eyes.

After uncorking the bottles, Thomas wasted no time. He firmly held Will's head steady as he trickled the liquid into his mouth, and then he let go. Will acted like he didn't even notice.

He was growing exponentially more distant by the second.

"It's shock." the older man said suddenly, now addressing Alyss.

"His brain is a bit overburdened at the moment - understandably, of course. He'll likely stay like this for a while until his mind can catch up and begin to adjust and process."

As he spoke, Thomas checked Will's eyes, felt his forehead, and counted his pulse. Then he stood up and moved toward the door. There wasn't much more he could do right now.

"Young Alyss," he said, before leaving the room entirely, "he may be awake, but he's not himself yet…just remember that…" He gave her a sympathetic smile, then closed the door.

Alyss had hoped that maybe Will would be a bit more _aware_ with her, but it appeared that Will did not register her presence either, as he hadn't even moved since they first entered the room.

She went over to stand by his side, trying her hardest to smile and be strong for him.

 _Well_ , she thought, _I guess_ _I should say something to him so he knows I'm here…_

…

Gilan and Lady Pauline were sitting quietly with Halt inside his bedroom when the house was shaken by the impact and sound of a heavy door being violently tossed open. The adults all looked at each other in confusion and then swiftly began to rise from their seats .

As soon as Gilan pulled open the door to Halt's room, he caught a glimpse of Alyss dashing away from the cottage as fast as she could run. He ran to the porch and stopped, then Lady Pauline darting past him.

"Alyss!" the older woman yelled, but the girl didn't stop. "Alyss, come back!"

Halt and Gilan were standing behind her a second later as she watched her apprentice disappear.

"Go after her," Halt said, a hint of concern in his tone. She nodded, and without another word, she was off.

o0o_o0o_o0o

Halt and Gilan stared at each other in silence, both men wondering the same thing:

 _What had Will done to upset Alyss like that..._

There was only one way to find out.

The ranger's made their way silently to Will's room. Unsure of what they would have to deal with inside.

Unsurprisingly, Will hadn't moved.

Gilan, who hadn't spoken with Will since he woke up, was the first to speak.

"Hey Will, it's Gilan, how are you doing, buddy?"

Halt wanted to roll his eyes. Like that was supposed to work on Will?

Then his tone was more sincere, softer. "We're all worried about you, you know. Me, Alyss, Pauline, Halt, Tug…Maybe it'd help for you to talk to us? I'm always ready to listen."

It was like he couldn't hear them. Or perhaps he didn't want to.

"Will, say something, please!"

But Will remained silent, unmoved by his friend's pleading.

Halt stood by and watched on with a heavy heart. He had no way to help Will - and even if the boy were willing to accept his help…what was he supposed to do? His fingers brushed reflexively against the northseeker in his pocket, but he knew not even his trusty compass could help him find the right way out of this mess…

o0o_o0o_o0o

Pauline finally found Alyss a couple hours after she had run out of Halt's cabin.

The girl had been sitting underneath the old tree in the courtyard of the castle, her head resting on her knees, and her blonde hair cascading down around her face to block it from the prying eyes of passersby.

Pauline had alternated between being angry and concerned as she hunted for Alyss, but the moment she found her, all that was pushed aside. She could see that Alyss needed a mother right now - and she was the closest thing the girl had to one.

"Alyss?"

The girl's shoulders shook a bit with a hidden sob, but Lady Pauline took it as a good sign that Alyss didn't try to get up and run again.

"Tell me what happened, dear," her voice was gentle, but it also held a certain commanding quality.

Alyss lifted her head, not looking at her teacher. She looked…devastated. And when she spoke, her voice was quiet and held none of its usual confidence and strength.

"I'm just...worried about Will…I've never seen him look at me like that…I've never heard him _speak_ like that."

 _Ah_ , Pauline thought to herself, _so Will had said something…something hurtful_.

"Yes, we are all worried about him. It's a terrible thing what happened to him, but he needs his friends to stay by him. I'm sure that with a little help from those he loves, he'll be back to his old self eventually."

"But…what if…what if he doesn't want us around anymore? What if he gives up? Wh..what if he…does something…bad?"

Pauline's usually unreadable face visibly darkened.

"What makes you say that, Alyss? What did Will say to you?"

The girl looked at the ground briefly before looking up at Pauline for a long moment.

"He…he told me to leave him," her head dropped down and the tears began to fall again. Then, in a voice that Lady Pauline had to strain to hear, Alyss whispered "he told me that he wants to die."


	8. Chapter 8

**IMPORTANT A/N: ***TRIGGER WARNING AHEAD*** Listen up, readers! There is going to be some fairly heavy depression-talk and suicidal ideation in this chapter - if this will distress you or cause you mental or physical harm, PLEASE DO NOT READ IT. I don't want anyone getting upset over anything they read here. Mental health is important and every life is valuable. If anyone DOES feel upset, you can PM me directly and I'll give you a big ol' internet hug and tell you that I love you. For realsies.**

 **Now, for those of you who are wicked like me and just want to watch Will's world burn - enjoy… *insert devil emoji here***

o0o_o0o_o0o

The stars were still out when Halt decided it was time to get up. He hadn't been able to sleep anyway and lying in bed made him feel soft.

As he slipped quietly from his room, he noted that Gilan was sleeping soundly on the couch - which unfortunately meant that he couldn't even make himself coffee since the noise would wake his former apprentice. So instead he made his way outside and took up his usual seat on the veranda.

His eyes scanned the surrounding area, all was calm and quiet…and then his gaze involuntarily dropped down to a large, faintly discolored patch of wood on the decking. Even in the darkness, he could see the area that was stained with Will's blood.

Looking at the horrible blot was becoming somewhat of a macabre ritual for the elder ranger - it was something he did whenever he stepped outside.

The spot served as a reminder to him of what he had almost lost - and what he tenuously still had.

Will…the boy's reaction to his leg had scared Halt more than he cared to admit. The despair, hopelessness, anger…It was just so…un Will-like. He never thought he would see a day when his Will would _give up_ , but that was exactly what he appeared to be doing.

Halt rubbed his face and groaned quietly, he was tired and worried and he needed to think of something to help Will. He wished Crowley were around, the cheerful commandant seemed to always get a smile out of Will, no matter the predicament. Perhaps he would write to him later, he would need to update him on Will's condition anyway…

As he sat there lost in thought, he vaguely heard the door beside him creak open. He was sure that had it not been for the rusty hinges of the door, Gilan could have probably successfully snuck up on him - and he would never have heard the end of it.

But that was one reason he liked to keep the cabin's doors creaky and unoiled - it was impossible to get the drop on him that way.

"Hello, Gilan" he said tiredly.

A hand appeared in his field of vision with a steaming cup of coffee. He looked a bit happier when he laid eyes on it, and he reached out gratefully, taking it with a nod of thanks.

"I heard you get up," Gilan began "I tried to ignore it and go back to sleep, but I figured you could probably do with the company. And the coffee."

When he saw Halt staring into the cup, Gilan rolled his eyes.

"I put your honey in there, don't worry. I wouldn't dare leave it out…"

The comment was meant to bring some joy to the ranger beside him, but Halt's eyes remained sad and a little empty. Everything made him think of Will. Coffee, honey, arrows, horses, trees, his oak leaf…There was nowhere he could look to find something that could take his mind off his apprentice.

Gilan watched on sympathetically. He knew Halt was as caring as he was stoic, and he knew that Halt loved Will more than anyone else in his life. While it hurt everyone to see Will this way, it hurt Halt the most.

"It isn't over, Halt. You needn't look so hopeless. I have faith in you…and as crazy as it may sound at the moment, I have faith in Will. We can't grow him a new leg, but we'll help him get back on his feet…"

Halt was staring out into the darkness for a moment lost in thought before his eyes lit up.

"Gilan!"

Halt's former apprentice looked at the older man in worry for a second, trying to discern if he had finally cracked under the pressure. If he didn't know better, he would have said Halt sounded… _excited._

"I have an idea that may help Will see that all is not lost. But we will need Crowley's help. And I may need to call in a personal favor from King Duncan…"

"Halt, _what_ are you on about?" Gilan questioned.

"His _leg_ , Gilan. We can't grow him a new one, but we can _make_ him a new one! It'll be the best prosthetic Araluen has ever seen! We can make it a toolkit of sorts, something specially designed to suit a ranger. Something that would turn a handicap into an unforeseen advantage…"

Gilan was nodding along, that just might work… He was already thinking up different functions the leg could have for Will as Halt formulated his own ideas.

The two men seemed a little more hopeful as they sat on the porch and watched the glorious sun rise.

o0o_o0o_o0o

Lady Pauline sat quietly at her desk staring at the letting in front of her. She knew she needed to inform Halt of what Alyss had learned yesterday, but she hated doing it like this. She should be there in person…but alas, she could not, so this would have to do…

She opened it once more and reread it for what must have been the fortieth time that morning:

 _Dear Halt,_

 _I am sorry that I could not relay this message to you in person, but I cannot get away from my duties here at the castle._

 _Alyss has spoken to me about what happened when she saw Will yesterday and I have been deeply concerned ever since. It seems he intimated to Alyss that he wishes to die…I do not tell you this to cause you additional stress, but you need to know._

 _You took my advice before and told him of your feelings…I ask that you heed my advice once again: Be open with him. Tell him that you know how he feels, show him support and the love that I know you feel for him. You don't always have to be Halt-the-hardhearted…because I know your heart is full of love, you just need to let some of it out._

 _Sincerely yours,_

 _P_

That would have to do. For the final time, she folded the letter closed and placed it inside a plain envelope before pouring melted wax over the flap and pressing her seal into the hardening substance.

Then she tucked it inside her leather courier's pouch and held it close to her chest as she went to fetch the fastest runner she knew.

o0o_o0o_o0o

Will was lying in his bed - as he had been for over a week. It was really all he _could_ do anymore…

Halt and Gilan rarely came in to sit with him now, but he could hardly blame them for that.

He didn't talk to them or even acknowledge them when they were here. So their visits had dwindled, and now they only occasionally poked their heads in the door to make sure he was still breathing or to bring him the food he didn't eat.

 _Who would want to be around you?_ A cruel voice inside his head said, _The one-legged ranger's apprentice_ … _Completely useless before you even became mildly useful._

His eyes stung as he thought about his life now. He would never run again, or climb the old tree in the courtyard. He wouldn't be able to ride Tug, or pass his ranger's exam. He would live life like a limping old man, forever relying on other's help while being unable to offer any of his own.

He had been sentenced to Hell while he was still alive…

 _But you don't have to stay alive,_ the nasty little voice in his head whispered.

His tears stopped as he thought about it, but he pushed the thought away guiltily, looking at the door in concern. He wasn't sure why, but he worried that Halt would somehow be able to read his mind from another room and would come in here to pummel him for his stupidity.

 _But would Halt think it was stupid?_ the voice hissed _Would Halt even care? Where is he now if he cares so much…_

Will's body didn't move but his eyes darted around the ceiling as he tried to steady his heart. Was he right?

Maybe he would be better off…and maybe Halt really didn't care. Maybe he would even be doing Halt a favor…

No! He was fine…he was going to get up and make his way out to the living room and stop feeling sorry for himself. He could do it if he just put his mind to it!

So, in that moment of desperation and self-loathing, Will pulled his covers back and sat up slowly, holding onto his headboard to steady himself while his body adjusted to the new position. He would prove to himself that he wasn't useless.

Then he swung his legs over the side, stifling the urge to sob when his left foot touched the floor but his right foot did not.

He took a deep breathe and then rose up.

The simple action required more strength than he anticipated. For a moment he stood upright, thinking perhaps that he _could_ hop out of the room on his own and seem somewhat less pathetic to his mentor.

But that didn't happened.

After a few almost-triumphant seconds of standing on his own, he began to totter. His eyes grew wide in panic. Reflexively, his brain told his right foot to move forward to balance and catch himself - and in his mind, that's what the appendage did…but in reality, it wasn't there. And instead, he crashed to the floor, his truncated leg taking the brunt of the landing as it had tried to catch and support him.

White light flashed in his eyes and he let out a scream of agony - the first sound he'd uttered in days.

He fainted before he had time to see his door being thrown open and Halt charging into the room with intense worry written plainly all over his face.

And perhaps if Will had been able to stay conscious for a few more seconds, he would have seen that look…and he would've never doubted again that Halt truly cared for him.

o0o_o0o_o0o

Halt and Gilan were currently engrossed in their sketches and notes for Will's prosthesis. The two men felt hopeful for the first time in days, and neither one of them could wait to finish so they could get the plans to the King's personal blacksmith. The sooner they got Will's new leg made, the better.

They had been there for hours when they heard a dreadful commotion.

There was a crash from Will's bedroom followed by a horrific scream of pain. Halt stood up so fast, he nearly toppled the table over - and Gilan was right behind him.

 _Oh no_ , Halt thought as he opened to door and saw an unconscious Will on the floor. _He had tried to stand…_

Halt felt nothing but shame as ran forward and knelt by his apprentice. He should have been here. He should have been there for Will's first attempt to stand…And now…

"Halt…" Gilan's voice was tight with concern. "His leg…"

Halt looked immediately down at Will's stump and he felt worry and fury lick at his insides. Worry, because the leg was bleeding badly. And fury because he had let this happen.

"Help me get him into the bed. I'll patch him up…Go and fetch the pain relieving tonics Thomas left, would you?"

As Gilan rose and slowly exited the room, Halt did his best to mask his tears.

o0o_o0o_o0o

Will was back in his bed when he woke up.

He briefly wondered if his failed attempt at standing was a dream or memory. But as his body woke up, he realized it had definitely, unequivocally, been a memory.

His leg throbbed and screamed in pain. Without realizing he was doing it, his hands fisted against the sheets and he bit his tongue to keep from crying out. With tears in his eyes, he cast his gaze around the room expecting to see Halt, but he saw no one.

The tears escaped now, running in hot, tiny rivers down the sides of his face. He laid his head back on the pillow in defeat. Halt wasn't there for him.

Halt wasn't there.

He had been right, the man must not care about him.

Into the gathering darkness of his mind, Will withdrew. He went so far from himself that even his physical pain became nothing more than a dull ache. And in that abyss, he started to formulate a plan. A way for him to escape - a way for everyone he knew to be free.


	9. Chapter 9

**IMPORTANT A/N: ***TRIGGER WARNING*** The same warning applies to this chapter that applied to the last chapter! Maybe even a little more so *gasp!***

 **Hello again, reader! I just wanna say thanks again for sticking with me this far. This is my first real chapter story and I *cough* didn't really start out with any plan for it - and you can probably tell that I'm making it up as I go. Sooo, if any of you have ideas or want to see something happen, let me know! I can definitely try to fit it in, and I'm also curious as to where you'd like to see this go…**

o0o_o0o_o0o

Halt's heart was still pounding uncomfortably against his ribs in the minutes following Will's failed attempt to get up. Together, he and Gilan had easily managed to get the unconscious apprentice back into his bed - but now Will's leg needed care.

After a few deep breaths, he turned his attention to the bandages around Will's stump and began unraveling them. It was apparent from the crimson blooming over the white bindings that the fall had further damaged the still-healing stump, he just worried how bad it was…

Judging by Will's scream, the boy must have landed on his bad leg when he fell. Halt sighed heavily as the last of the soiled wrappings finally fell away and he witnessed the damage.

He could see that several of the larger stitches around the base of the leg had burst from the impact, and the area was already swollen and quite red. There was a new bruise forming there as well. Before restitching and bandaging, he would need to soak the wound in the antiseptic liquid Thomas had shown him how to make. But he still found himself wishing the healer was there to help him…

However, as it were, the physician had been called away on an emergency to some remote part of the fief, and had been forced to leave Halt and Gilan alone to care for Will's injury. And that was no easy task, to say the least.

With everything finally ready, Halt sat on the edge of the bed and ran a hand through the boy's hair. Beneath his worry and sorrow, he felt guilt beginning to eat away at him as well. He should have been there…

With a gentle pat on Will's chest, Halt rose and started the procedure of getting Will's leg fixed up.

o0o_o0o_o0o

Halt had just finished tying off the last stitch in Will's stump when there was a knock at the front door. That was odd…

He looked at his sleeping apprentice and reached for a clean towel to dry his hands with - _this is as good a stopping place as any_ , he thought. Then he stood slowly and gently placed Will's leg in the basin of fresh antiseptic to soak for a bit. He would come back in to bandage it up later.

When Halt finally came out of Will's room, he saw Gilan standing at the door speaking quietly to a young man who Halt identified as one of Pauline's runners. With one eyebrow slightly raised, Halt stepped to Gilan's side and waited for the letter the boy obviously would be carrying.

Under normal circumstances, Halt would have enjoyed the frightened look he earned from the boy, but today he was more concerned with his apprentice and what the letter said. He took it without a word and went back into the house, opening the envelope as he went. He vaguely heard Gilan thanking the young man quietly and heard him drop a couple coins into the boy's hand, but he wasn't paying attention to that…

By the time Gilan had dismissed the runner, Halt was already sitting in his chair and was still staring at the letter in his hand, expression unreadable.

"Halt?" Gilan began "what's it say?"

Halt didn't really appear to have heard the younger man's question, and instead, Gilan saw his friend's eyebrows come together as his eyes focused and began to reread the text. That wasn't very promising…

"What's it say, Halt?" he ventured again. This time Halt looked his way, a blank expression on his face.

The letter was held out toward him and he stepped forward to take it.

Any jokes that Gilan may have made at Halt's expense about Lady Pauline's clearly _fond_ tone dissipated when Gilan saw what the main concern of the letter was.

When he finished reading, he looked up and saw Halt looking at him sadly.

"I don't know what to do, Gilan…"

The younger ranger was at a loss as well. So he stepped toward his former teacher, letting the letter fall to the floor as he went. He stopped when he was standing beside his seated friend, and after a moment of quiet, he reached out and put his arm around Halt's shoulders.

…

Neither man was aware that in the other room, Will had just awakened - and he was feeling more alone than ever.

o0o_o0o_o0o

The sound of his door opening alerted him to the fact that someone, probably Halt, had just entered the room.

But despite the fact that he had been craving his mentor's company before, now that he was there, Will somehow felt _more_ abandoned.

 _Why wasn't he here…_

Which is why Will grew angry when Halt sat down on the edge of his bed and placed his hand on the boy's slightly warm forehead.

 _Like he even cares…_

Halt's voice was gentle when he spoke, "How are you feeling?"

All the man got for his effort was silence.

"Well, I need to bandage your leg. It reopened when you fell…" He wanted to scold Will for trying to get up when he clearly needed assistance, but he thought better of it.

When he received no protests from Will, he produced a roll of clean bandages and gently pulled Will's leg out of the liquid before drying it off carefully. Some part of Will felt pitiful and weak to be cared for like this, but even so, he couldn't really bring himself to care too much. He hated all of this, but it was his life now.

 _Pitiful like a helpless baby. And babies can't be rangers._

Halt was silent as he examined the new stitches, then he began to wrap the leg again. Will, for his part, made a point to stare up at the ceiling while Halt _helped_ him.

It took a minute, but soon Halt was done. Then the older man began fidgeting with Will's covers, pulling the blankets down over his legs and tucking them in with clumsily gentle hands. Some part of Will's brain recognized the tell-tale signs of Halt preparing for an awkward heart-felt discussion just before -

"Will, I need to speak with you. You don't have to respond, but I need you to listen, alright?"

He would have rolled his eyes, but chose to remain still instead.

"I know what you told Alyss yesterday…about wishing you were dead." his voice was quiet and he sounded so _sad_.

Will's eyes flashed in panic for a split second, but he quickly masked his emotions. His face returning to its previous vacant expression as he waited for Halt to make his point.

 _What do you know, Halt?_ The angry voice jeered inside his head, _You know nothing…_

"I want to help you, Will…I've been working on something with Gilan. It's a new leg, see?" the man produced a piece of thick parchment that had complicated blueprints for what appeared to be a prosthetic leg. He tilted the paper so Will could see it, praying that he would see some kind of hope in those brown eyes.

To Halt's dismay, though, Will's eyes remained disinterested.

 _He's just leading you on,_ the monster goaded, effectively crushing his hope. _He's trying to get your hopes up so you'll fall twice as hard when you inevitably fail. You can't walk or run anymore - nothing is going to change that._

He heard Halt rolling up the paper before his mentor spoke again, the man's voice sounded oddly thick now.

"I'm not giving up on you, Will."

 _But you will._

 _o0o_o0o_o0o_

"So? What'd he think? Was he excited?"

Halt looked at Gilan with an annoyed sort of expression.

"No. He didn't seem to care at all. But he can't stay in bed like this. We have to press on with this prosthetic. Maybe when he can hold it in his hands - _walk with it_ \- he'll see that his life isn't over…Listen, Gilan…you've been an incredible help, and I hate to ask more of you -"

The lanky ranger interrupted with a grin, "But you're going to anyway, right?"

Halt leveled a glare at him but kept talking, "I need you to take these plans to Castle Araluen. Deliver them and this letter to King Duncan himself. Tell him I'm calling in one of those _special favors_ he keeps telling me I have."

Gilan took the sealed envelope from Halt's hand as well as the plans.

"I also jotted down some measurements for the leg earlier when I was patching him up, they should be sufficient for the blacksmith to get started. I estimate it should take around a week for the leg to be made, so I'll expect you back here with it within a fortnight, but the sooner the better."

The taller man nodded as he stood to leave. He was ready to get out and stretch his muscles. To see people who still smiled…

"I best go say goodbye to him before I set off."

He heard a low mumble from behind him as he turned toward Will's room.

"Good luck with that."

…

Gilan was drawing his cloak around himself and straightening his oakleaf when he appeared in Will's doorway.

 _So he's leaving…Probably tired of waiting on you to get up. He knows it'll never happen._

"Hey Will, I'm glad you're awake! I just wanted to say bye before I head out," The young man grabbed Will's good knee and squeezed it gently.

"Be nice to Halt while I'm gone, okay? He misses you. He just wants you to be healthy and happy…"

 _And I'm neither._

Gilan saw the way Will's expression darkened, and he sighed before he sat down next to his friend, looking pointedly into the younger man's eyes.

"Don't listen to whatever your head is telling you, Will. _It's not true_. Halt sees your pain, and so do I - and I'm not talking about your leg…Don't feed the darkness. And remember I'll always be there for you, and so will Halt. I don't want you to ever think you're alone in this fight."

Will was looking into Gilan's eyes with some combination of awe, sorrow, gratitude, fear, and trust. How did Gilan know…

The ranger gave Will a warm smile as he leaned in to hug him.

"Hang in there, Will. I'll be back in a couple weeks and we'll have you back to your training schedule in no time. I'll teach you to 'walk invisible', sound like a plan?"

When he pulled away, he looked at Will expectantly and received a timid nod.

Gilan smiled as he stood up and tousled Will's hair before he headed toward the door.

Will watched him go with sad eyes, thinking of the words Gilan had just imparted to him. He wondered if he really could heal - or if he would end up succumbing to his darkest and innermost desire. And after that thought, he wondered if this would be the last time he ever saw his friend. It was a melancholy thought, one that hurt him to even consider…but just in case…

"I love you, Gilan."

The other man paused in the doorway, and Will wondered if he was wondering the same thing about him. And perhaps he was, because his voice sounded strange when he spoke his parting words.

"I love you, too, Will."

o0o_o0o_o0o

Halt woke up in the middle of the night with a feeling of dread lapping at his insides. Something wasn't right. He could feel it in the air. The silence was so loud, it seemed to make the air shudder around him.

 _Will._

The ranger was up and out of his bedroom before his discarded blankets had even settled onto the floor. He ran the few paces to Will's room and threw open the door. His eyes confirming what his heart already knew.

It was empty…

Will was gone.

Terror consumed the ranger as he ran onto the veranda "Will!" he yelled into the blackness of the night. "WILL!"

The only response he got was from Abelard, the horse already alert and eager to assist. It seemed even the equine knew of the urgency of this situation, as he was tossing his head in anxiety. And that's when Halt noticed that Tug was gone as well.

He had to find them…

Without even bothering to fetch his shoes or his cloak or his weapons, Halt ran from the house and out to the barn. He threw open the paddock gate as his faithful mount trotted to his side, and without a wasted second, the man swung up onto the small horse's back before urging him forward.

"Find them!" he barked, and Abelard took off into the deep woods.

As they raced through the trees, the only sound Halt could hear was the drumming of his horse's hooves and the pounding of his own heart, and then it hit him. Abelard was taking him straight for the river.

o0o_o0o_o0o

It had been a challenge to get out of the house unnoticed, especially considering the fact that he'd had to crawl the whole way…but he had taken it one millimeter at a time and somehow he'd managed it. It was such a remarkable accomplishment, that he wondered if even God wanted his quest to succeed.

 _Yes, because even God wants you dead!_ The voice cackled.

In any other circumstance, Will might have been proud of his achievement. He had moved so silently, that not even the mouse sitting on the porch had been alerted to his presence. But more importantly, not even _Halt_ had noticed.

Keeping the horses silent had been its own special challenge. He had bribed both of them with apples, and because they knew him, they hadn't suspected a thing. Well, Tug hadn't.

Which is why he'd clambered clumsily onto his pony and had taken off as quickly as he could. He knew Abelard would wake up Halt as soon as he left on Tug. The beast was just as wary as his rider…and it was because of this that they needed to put as much distance between themselves and the cabin as possible.

As he rode, Will did his best to remain calm and act natural. In his haste to get away, he hadn't saddled the pony, and he knew Tug was much more attuned to his rider's feelings when they rode bareback like this. He didn't want his shaggy friend to grow worried and refuse to go any further. So instead of giving into the terrifying fear and morbid excitement he was feeling at that moment, he focused on the familiar rocking horse motion of Tug's gait, savoring those last minutes he had with the grey pony.

Of all the activities he was leaving behind, riding a great horse might just be the one he'd miss the most.

He even smiled - a _true_ smile - as they loped through the black woods together. He vaguely noted that, while riding without most of his lower leg was difficult and felt odd - it was not as difficult as he'd imagined.

 _It doesn't matter!_ That cruel voice snapped suddenly, _You're going to be dead soon, and there's no riding where you're going. A one-legged ranger can't ride horses well enough to keep up with anyone._

He was right…And they were almost there anyway. The river. He could hear the sound of its churning waters. He wouldn't stand a chance if he went in there…And even if he made a last-ditch effort to save himself, as he'd heard people tended to do, he wouldn't be able to. That was what he wanted. No going back.

Tug was growing increasingly anxious now, something about his boy wasn't right. His heart was palpitating wildly, and he reeked of all kinds of frightening smells. The pony balked and began walking backwards, but Will slid off of him and collapsed onto the ground, then he began crawling toward the raging water.

Tug didn't understand what was happening. This wasn't right! He trotted around his boy, doing his best to stop him from going into the water. But his boy wasn't listening to him. So he put his shaggy head down and charged away, flying faster than he'd ever done before. He had to get help.

Will watched him go with tears in his eyes.

 _It's for the best…_

He started to feel sick with terror as he got closer and closer, his body knew what his head was about to make it do, and his preservation instincts started to fight back.

 _No! No! No!_ His body screamed.

But that black voice inside him whispered back…

 _Yes._

o0o_o0o_o0o

"Will!" Halt's voice was raw and hoarse from screaming for so long, but he didn't stop. He couldn't.

"WILL! TUG! COME BACK!"

And that's when he was nearly knocked off of Abelard by a grey pony that slammed into them.

"Tug?!" He cried, panicking when he saw the little horse with no bridle and no saddle, but the clear markings on his back of where a boy had sat…recently.

The little horse bellowed at him in a distressed, urgent sort of way, Halt understood it as if the beast had shouted in plain human speech - 'Will needs help! Come on!'

"Lead on, Tug!"

The trio sped away again, galloping full tilt through the trees until Halt could hear the sound of the river and see the forest opening up. And then they burst into the open, the river's fast moving water creating a roar that sounded very similar to the rushing of the blood in his head. His eyes frantically scanned the water and the shore, and his heart dropped into his stomach when he saw the shape of a boy with dark hair lying by the bank, half submerged in the frothy water. He wasn't moving.

"WILL? WILL! NO!"

He launched off of Abelard and stumbled forward, the rocks hurt his feet, but that didn't matter. Only one thing mattered right then.

"Will!" Halt finally reached his apprentice and tugged him from the water as if he weighed nothing. Then without meaning to, he slammed the body down hard onto the bank before pressing his ear to the boy's chest. There was nothing.

"Don't do this, Will! Don't you _dare_!" He cried as he pounded on Will's chest. His panic was growing with every second. No, no, no!

He couldn't give up. With shaking hands, he flipped the boy over onto his stomach and pounded on his back. But Will still didn't wake.

The tears started to fall as the dreadful nightmare began to cement itself into an even more terrible reality.

Halt sat back on the sodden earth and stared at Will's body. He looked so young and small. This was all so unfair…

The word "why" floated around in his head like an irksome fly.

And then he pulled the boy into his arms, holding him tightly and sobbing into his wet hair. He saw that there was a bloody gash on the side of his head…but it didn't really matter now.

"Will, come back! _Please!_ Come back…I need you, son. I love you."

He looked at Will's face again, hoping those warm brown eyes would miraculously spring open. But they didn't.

With a wail that spoke of deep anger and an even deeper loss, he shoved Will's limp body away and let it roll onto the grass. He was mad at Will for doing this to him. He slammed the sides of his fists against the prone form, not seeing through his tears where his blows fell. But it didn't matter, it's not like the boy could feel it anyway. He wouldn't care.

Will had done this. He had killed himself without thinking about the people who loved him, or of all the good he was robbing the world of when he had robbed it of himself.

"Will…" his cries were feeble and choked now, and the blows he had been raining down on Will's body had become nothing more than desperate nudges "I'm sorry I failed you…"

And then Halt heard the faintest, most wonderful, terrifying sound he had ever heard in all his life -

"…O-ow…"

"Will!?"

o0o_o0o_o0o

 **A/N: Does that still count as a cliffhanger? Or was that a baby cliffhanger? I was** ** _going_** **to cut it off right when Halt finds Will, but SOME of you *cough-wink-cough* seem to be less than enthused by all the cliffhangers 'round here. At the same time, though…I JUST CAN'T HELP MYSELF.**

 **PS: I know you guys hate me now! XD**

 **Until next time!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Just a heads-up, I had some major writer's block with this chapter, so it's more of a placeholder / filler chapter while I try to get my momentum back. But I hope it's okay and that you enjoy! And thank you for all the reviews, you guys are wonderful!**

o0o_o0o_o0o

"…O-ow…"

"Will!?"

Halt couldn't believe his ears…Will was alive…How?!

In a second, the older man had thrown himself forward and was leaning over his apprentice, examining him for any real signs of life, praying that the sound he had heard had not just been a figment of his imagination…

"Will? Can you hear me? Can you answer me…? Will?"

He waited and watched the boy's face, but Will was unresponsive. His eyes were barely open and his breaths were coming in rasping, shallow pulls. And that's when Halt's attention returned to the gash on the side of Will's head that he had noticed earlier.

Despite his relief that Will was still alive, he reminded himself that they weren't out of the woods yet. Literally and figuratively. He needed to get Will back to the castle as quickly as possible.

"Abelard! Come!"

His faithful pony was beside him in an instant, and Halt motioned for him to lay down beside them, which the horse did. After that, Halt was able to gather the boy up in his arms and hold him as he climbed onto the horse.

Once they were situated, all it took was a click from his master's tongue, and Abelard was hefting himself onto his feet again - doing his best not to jostle and unseat his riders.

And then Tug was beside them. He needed no lead and no commands, Halt knew the pony would stay with them - and more precisely, that he would stay where he could see Will. The ranger was sure the pony felt much the same as he did - like if he looked away from Will, the boy would disappear forever…The older ranger felt strong sympathy for the animal, and he spoke gentle reassurances to the little horse as they started toward Redmont.

…

It wasn't long before Will's unconscious body began shivering violently in Halt's arms as they cantered through the woods, but there was not much Halt could do to remedy the situation. Will was soaking wet, and he had no cloak to wrap around his apprentice.

As if there weren't enough things threatening Will's survival, now hypothermia was raising its ugly head…

In a moment of decision, Halt chose to abandon the pursuit of the designated road that would lead to Redmont, and instead, they began cutting through the wilder part of the forest. As a ranger, he was familiar with these woods, so he was not concerned with encountering any unknown obstacles. And though he wouldn't have advised this route for anyone else, he knew that between Abelard and himself, this way could save precious minutes…

His gamble paid off shortly after that when they broke from the trees and into the surrounding fields and open range surrounding the castle. Now that the horses could gallop without the need to maneuver obstacles, Halt quickly readjusted his hold on Will, then he gave Abelard his head and urged him on.

It seemed like they arrived at the castle in record time, but maybe Halt had just been too preoccupied to pay attention to the passage of time…as his mind had been focused on the thin wrist that he held clutched in his hand, and the beats of the pulse that pattered weakly against his cold fingers.

o0o_o0o_o0o

Lady Pauline had been fast asleep when she was roused by a sudden pounding on her door that had her sitting up with a start. Her eyebrows dipped together as she hastily threw back the covers and padded toward the entry of her darkened apartment.

She hesitated only for the briefest of moments when she finally reached the door, before tugging it open at last. After all, for someone to call on her at this hour likely meant an emergency…

 _"_ _Halt?!"_

The woman could hardly believe her eyes. Halt was standing in front of her, dripping onto the stones and he looked about ready to collapse. His eyes were dark and he was not wearing any of his usually gear - as a matter of fact, he wasn't wearing anything but a loose-fitting nightshirt and some baggy wool trousers.

It appeared that he had been unceremoniously woken up as well.

"Halt," she started again, her voice more concerned now "has something happened? What's going on?"

The ranger looked at her with an expression she had never seen before…he looked… _ashamed_.

"Pauline…I failed him."

And just like that, without knowing if he had embraced her or if she had embraced him, Halt found himself enveloped in the strong warmth of his friend's arms.

The two stood there like that for a long while, until they were alerted to the sudden presence of Alyss.

"What's going on, Lady Pauline? Is that Halt…? Where's Will!?"

Pauline pulled away from Halt then, and held the man at arm's length, doing a more thorough study of his appearance.

"Yes, Halt, tell us what's going on - is Will alive?"

The ranger's head hung down, and he pulled his hands slowly away from Pauline's.

"He's alive - he's in the infirmary now…" then he paused, like he was contemplating whether or not he should confess to something, "Pauline…I didn't hear him…I didn't know…He slipped out after I fell asleep, he rode off on Tug and then jumped in the river - he wasn't breathing when I found him…I just -"

But Pauline had heard enough for the moment.

"It wasn't your fault. You saved him, and that's all that matters. Now, let's go see that apprentice of yours."

o0o_o0o_o0o

The castle healers were still working with Will when Halt, Pauline, and Alyss appeared in the infirmary.

Halt made his way over to where his young friend lay on the bed.

"How is he?"

"Warming up some. He's still unresponsive, probably from the head wound. It's fortunate in a way, it seems he was knocked unconscious before he could inhale much water into his lungs. He still took in enough, mind you, but not nearly as much as he could have…"

Halt just nodded, looking at the bandage on Will's head that was already turning red. Then he started to chuckle in a mirthless, disbelieving sort of way.

"…Ranger? Is something wrong?" the young healer asked from beside him, clearly concerned for the man's mental state.

"First his leg, now _this_." he gave another humorless chuckle and shook his head "It seems we can't catch a break…"

Pauline had appeared behind him by this point, and had heard what he'd said.

"I believe we've had more breaks than you give credit for, Halt. Will is alive. Isn't that something? I'll admit, the circumstances of late have been far from ideal, but they're certainly not as horrible as they could be! Don't be so quick to dismiss the positive because the negatives seem greater…We still have Will, and therefore we still have hope!"

Halt's cheeks were a bit flushed as Pauline finished her short speech. His eyes went back to Will and instead of focusing on his truncated leg or the wound on his temple, he focused on the steady rise and fall of the boy's chest and the way his skin had the color of life.

Aye, things _were_ bad…but Pauline was right. Will was alive, and the journey was still far from over.

o0o_o0o_o0o

Two days had passed since Gilan had arrived at Castle Araluen on his special errand, and since Will's new leg was already in production (something he could not really help with), the young man was finding himself rather bored.

Unfortunately, as Gilan sat in Crowley's office, he made the mistake of verbalizing his boredom to his friend, who immediately had a solution to "alleviate" the younger man's suffering…With his trademark impish grin, the commandant produced a small mountain of reports from beside his chair, before dropping them heavily on the desk in front of him.

"I was hoping you would say that! Because it just so happens that your fief is simply _buzzing_ with activity! I mean, _look_ at all these reports!"

Gilan frowned disappointedly as he beheld the stack of papers between him and the other man.

It was true, he did need to keep himself up-to-date of the goings on of his fief - which was still under the temporary care of a replacement ranger - but that didn't make the task any less tedious.

Crowley smirked in an irritating sort of way as he continued "At any rate, these should occupy you for the remainder of your visit…I'd just hate for you not to have anything to do, and Halt would be less than pleased if he heard you were having _fun,_ after all…"

The young ranger glared at Crowley's back as the man practically two-stepped from the room, and then Gilan alone. With a sigh, he resigned himself to the many boring hours he had ahead and reached for the first report.

 _Let's get this over with…_

…

To Gilan, it felt like years had elapsed since he had begun reviewing the reports from his fief, his neck and back already aching from the stagnation. He had to get out of this…

With a groan, he pushed the papers aside and rubbed at his eyes in frustration, wondering if he could get past Crowley if he gave it his best shot…

Then from the other room, he heard a voice call out "Don't even think about it, Gilan!"

And even though he knew the commandant couldn't see it, Gilan made a rude gesture toward the place he knew his friend sat on the other side of the wall.

"If you want to keep your shoulders in their sockets, you won't make that gesture at me again, either!"

Crowley smiled when he heard a stack of papers being thrown in frustration on the other side of the door. He really missed having youngsters around to mess with - though Gilan and Will were by far his favorites…

 _Ah, Will_ … he thought with a frown.

He would need to pay a visit to the boy and his best friend soon enough…

…

It wasn't five minutes after Gilan and Crowley's _chat_ that there came a knock at the main door to the commandant's office.

Gilan heard it from the other room and lifted his head, straining to hear who it was - if for no other reason than he was desperate for some distraction from this paperwork torture…

He could make out the faint sound of papers changing hands and a quick spoken message before the door clicked closed quietly and the room went silent. It must have been a courier.

His suspicions were confirmed a second later when he heard the quiet sound of paper being rustled as a seal was broken.

Despite the fact that couriers were a common occurrence at the commandant's office, some part of him couldn't help but wonder if the letter could be news from Halt. But he dismissed the idea quickly. Halt wasn't one to write letters, and surely he had everything under control.

However, a minute later when Crowley appeared in the small doorway with a pale and gaunt look on his usually cheerful face, Gilan felt his worry rekindled.

Crowley clutched the letter in his hand as he stared at the young man before him, then he spoke.

"Halt sends a request for a replacement ranger for Redmont…It seems Will tried to take his life and Halt is devoting all of his time to his apprentice's care for the foreseeable future…"

With the alarm bells going off inside his head, Gilan couldn't control himself. He jumped from his seat and took the letter from Crowley's hand - surely this was just another of the old man's pranks, surely Will would never even _think_ to do such a thing…

But as he read the letter, written in Halt's own hand, he saw that it was the truth. He sank down onto his knees and stared in shock at the piece of paper. All of the emotions he felt were clashing violently within his troubled mind: Shock, fear, sorrow, worry, anger.

Crowley spoke, his voice uncharacteristically serious. Which only served to further drive the severity of the situation home.

"Gilan, I know that you're technically on your own leave-of-absence to help Halt and Will, but would you consider taking on Redmont? You could help him in more ways that one, and I doubt he'd want anyone else coming near his fief…"

At any other moment, Gilan might have smiled at the thought of Halt choosing him to watch over his precious fief, but now…? He just felt numb.

"If that's what you would have me do." His tone was respectful but guarded. Like he had more to say to his commandant but chose not to. Crowley understood.

"I would…but - not as a duty to the corps, or even to me - as a duty to your friends. Halt is tough, but he's not made of stone like he wants the world to believe. He has a soft spot for that boy that I can barely comprehend, and I know he feels similarly about you. Your presence there would be good for everyone, I think." Gilan was looking away, but nodded slightly. "So…I hereby assign you indefinitely to Redmont Fief, until such a time that Will is back to himself, and Halt has returned to his grumpy old ways. Are we in agreement?"

"Aye, that we are, Crowley."

"Good. Now how about you go check on the progress of that prosthetic. I can probably find some pigeons who could finish your paperwork for you." The joke was a feeble attempt to lighten the mood, and they both knew it. When the commandant spoke again, his voice was thick, "Well…Off with you! I have some letters to write…"

o0o_o0o_o0o

 **A/N: Taadaa, no cliffhanger! Are you happy now? I hope so - because this chapter was a turd to write (and I'm still not, like…** ** _SUPER_** **happy with it, but whatever). In any case, thanks for reading! See ya next time!**


	11. Chapter 11

It had been a long ride back to Castle Redmont, but Thomas could finally see the familiar structure looming into view in front of him. _Finally_. He was anxious to get back to his normal routine, and to see how his patients had fared without him — It always caused him constant worry when he had to neglect one case in favor of another…

The hauntingly familiar image of a feverish, one-legged ranger's apprentice featured itself most prominently in his mind. He was greatly concerned for that boy.

Even while he had been away, his mind had often dwelt on Will; ruminating on ways to possibly help him - and sometimes simply _hoping_ that the boy was improving…or at the very least, not getting any worse.

But hopes did little, and that was why he was relieved to finally be back.

Once he had arrived at the stables and had given his trusty gelding over to the care of a groom, he headed straight for the infirmary. It would be best for him to check on his colleagues and drop off his bags before heading out to check on the rangers.

However, that trip soon proved to be unnecessary when Thomas pushed open the door to the sick ward, and found two familiar rangers already there…

His eyebrows rose in surprise, then dipped in concern.

One of the men looked exhausted and worried, while the other - the one Thomas had been most concerned about - looked to be on death's doorstep.

"My God!" the healer blurted as he hastened over to Halt and his ailing apprentice, "What's been going on while I was away!"

The ranger managed an annoyed glare at the other man before it settled into a half-hearted scowl. He didn't speak, though, he just turned back to Will.

Thomas followed his gaze and his own expression darkened.

The boy was clearly feverish, his hair wet with sweat and his shivers so strong they were visible from a fair distance away. The ragged breaths he was taking had a distinctive wheezing sound, and occasionally he would let loose a deep, painful cough. There was a bandage on his head - one that hadn't been there when he'd left days prior - wrapped around a bleeding wound…

"He's got pneumonia…" Thomas whispered, more to himself than anyone else as he examined Will closely. Then he turned back to the other man -

"Halt, tell me what's happened…"

Halt looked like he was ready to collapse, but he stood up and walked a short distance away to tell the physician all that had transpired in his absence.

…

As midday came around, a storm rolled in. Rain pelted the windowpanes of the infirmary and the gusting wind rattled the glass. The darkened sky had robbed the large stone room of much of its light, which left Halt feeling especially grateful for the fires that burned by each of the beds.

Will had been shivering all day, but the action was becoming shockingly more feeble with every passing minute. Halt feared that soon the boy would expire…After all, a body could only endure so much, and Will's was tired…and he had yet to wake up…

The ranger rubbed his face and continued his vigil. No matter how grim the outlook, he couldn't give up yet.

Halt just hoped Crowley's replacement ranger would arrive soon. He hated to neglect his duties like this, but Will was more important to him than anything. And he wouldn't leave the boy for any reason, especially not _now_.

He had spoken with Thomas earlier, and their conversation had done little to assuage his fears.

The healer had told him that, while Will's leg was mostly healed, the pneumonia had become its own threat entirely. And because Will's body was already weakened and worn out, his chances of fighting off the illness were not promising.

Will's attempt to end his own life had put a terrible strain onto an already difficult healing process, and Halt blamed himself for it.

He recalled Thomas's earlier words miserably. _"He very well may still get his death - just not the one he intended…"_

According to the physician, the water Will had inhaled when he jumped into the river had been the cause of the pneumonia. It would have happened to most anyone in that situation, he'd said, even a healthy person.

A heavy sigh escaped him as he leaned forward and rested his head on Will's mattress…All of these life-or-death situations were beginning to take their toll on him. He wasn't sure how much longer his heart could take it…But he had to be strong - wallowing in misery had never been something he had done, and he didn't intend to start now.

Leaning back again, Halt studied the pitiful form of his shivering apprentice, and he wondered if Will was even still in there…the boy before him looked nothing like the lively and cheerful young man he knew.

And then the silence was broken by a weak voice.

"…Halt..?"

The ranger wanted to wince at how rough Will's voice sounded - surely his throat was horribly sore - but he did his best to ignore it for now. Instead he focused on Will's face and tried to respond in his most reassuring voice.

"I'm here, Will, right here," he reached out and squeezed Will's cold hand, rubbing his chilly fingers to warm them up. The boy visibly relaxed at the touch, though his breathing started to become irregular from some kind of distress…

"Will? What's the matter? Does something hurt..?" Halt leaned forward in concern, but Will was shaking his head weakly.

"I'm…so-sorry, Halt…I…" and then he started to cry. Halt's heart was still pounding from the sudden rush of adrenaline and fear. He'd thought briefly that Will was taking a turn for the worse. He took a deep breath to calm down.

"Hush, Will. There's nothing to apologize for. You're safe and I'm here…Go to sleep."

Will grew quiet for a few moments, his own breathing evening out, though it remained slightly fast and shallow.

"…H..Halt?"

"Yes, Will?"

"I…" his voice was quiet and sounded slightly nervous. Halt recognized it as the voice Will used when he wanted something.

"Tell me what you want, Will…" It was the same thing he would have snapped at Will in a normal situation, but now the usual irritation was completely absent from his tone. He wanted to do whatever he could to make Will feel better…

Will's voice trembled when next he spoke, it was barely more than a whisper. "Could…can I hug you?"

Halt was a little taken aback by the request, but his expression of shock quickly softened to one of quiet amusement.

"Aye. I think we can manage that…But just the one…"

He leaned down and wrapped his arms around Will, pulling the boy up to give him an affectionate squeeze. But when he went to let go, Will's thin arms didn't loosen. With an inward sigh, Halt decided he wouldn't break the contact. Will needed this. And some part of his subconscious knew that _he_ needed it, too.

"Hold on, let me just —" Halt muttered as he quickly readjusted his grip on Will, moving so that he was sitting on the bed next to his apprentice, leaning back against the headboard. Then he wrapped the blankets around Will again and then pulled him close.

Will didn't say anything else, and neither did Halt. The rangers just relaxed in the comforting presence of the other, and before long, they were both fast asleep.

o0o…o0o…o0o

Gilan arrived at Castle Redmont that evening, soaking wet and sore from the long ride, but still eager to see his friends.

After he had visited with Baron Arald and filled him in on Crowley's assignment, he headed straight for the infirmary. Apparently Will had taken ill after his suicide attempt, and he was being watched closely by the castle physicians - and Halt - until he was stronger.

Gilan couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Will. This whole ordeal had been hellish just to _witness_ …he couldn't even begin to imagine what Will was feeling…

But he wasn't able to dwell on the thought for long, because soon enough he was standing in front of the large double doors that led to the sick ward. And as he pushed open the door, he realized suddenly that he felt _nervous._ More nervous than he'd felt in a long time...He honestly had no idea what to expect - he didn't really know how Halt was dealing with it, or if Will was even going to live…What would he find...

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dim lighting inside, and once they had, he froze in disbelief. Because he never could have anticipated this particular scene.

Halt, the eight-foot-tall invincible ranger of Redmont Fief, was sawing logs while cuddling the unconscious form of his apprentice.

As he studied the pair from a distance, the tired ranger felt warmth spreading through his chest, and the warmth chased all bad thoughts away.

He decided then not to wake them. Instead, he set his bag down on the floor by a vacant bed in the corner and laid down for a rest. He knew both of his friends would still be there in the morning.

…

Gilan was woken roughly by a shove to his shoulder, and he cracked a tired eye open in response to see a slightly irritated looking Halt staring down at him.

"When did you get here?" the older man asked accusingly. Gilan detected a hint of worry and embarrassment in his voice, and he just couldn't help himself…

"Well, if you're trying to ask me if I saw you _snuggling_ with Will, the answer is yes. I got here several hours ago…So _sweet_ , Halt…"

He gave his former mentor a cheeky sort of grin as he covered his head with his arms to block the incoming smack. Which did nothing to stop the not-so-playful blow Halt landed on his side.

"Gah!" he exclaimed, pulling his hands down to rub at his bruised ribcage, "I ride day and night through a storm to come babysit _your_ fief and I get pummeled for my efforts? I think I deserve a cuddle too, Halt!"

He playfully opened his arms for a hug as Halt huffed and stomped back over to Will's bed.

Gilan's smile slowly faded. In his eagerness to mess with Halt, he'd nearly forgotten his young friend. Even from where he sat, he could see that the boy wasn't looking so good.

He swung his legs out of the bed and padded over to where Halt was sitting.

"I am sorry about all this, Halt." his voice was no longer playful and mischievous. "Crowley's assigned me to watch over Redmont - indefinitely."

Halt looked up at Gilan finally, his expression impossible to read. Then he sighed, "I'm glad he sent you."

Gilan picked up on the tiny emphasis that Halt had placed on the last word. He smiled.

"So, I guess I should fill you in." the younger man began, "King Duncan gave the plans for Will's leg to his best blacksmiths, I guess it was mostly done when I left. Crowley promised to bring it along himself once it's completed."

Halt simply nodded.

"I'll be staying until Will is back to himself. I figure I can bunk in his room with him - he'll likely need some monitoring for a while. The ranger at my fief has agreed to stay on until things are back to normal, so don't worry about that."

Halt remained quiet but nodded again.

Gilan frowned at him.

"You need to rest, Halt. In your _own_ bed. I can tell you haven't had a good nights sleep in days."

"I'm fine, Gilan. I'm not leaving Will. Last time - "

"Stop! You have to stop thinking like that, Halt. _'Last time'_ was not your fault."

"If I had been with him - if I had _heard…_ I could have prevented it, but I didn't…So how is it _not_ my fault…?"

Gilan sighed heavily, "I know you want to blame yourself for this, but the blame isn't yours. It never has been. You didn't cripple Will. You've done more for him than anyone else ever has…As much as I tease, seeing you with him earlier…I know you love him. And I know that you would _never_ let anything bad happen to him if it were truly within your power to control…" he took a deep breath.

"Seeing you with Will, it reminded me of my own father…If something like this had happened to me while I was with David, would you think it was David's fault?"

Halt frowned "Of course not, but -"

The young man looked him in the eye then.

"The circumstances were beyond your control, Halt. Please…don't blame yourself for this."

Halt nodded again, he could see that he wasn't going to win this argument, "Alright, Gilan."

"Good. Now, Crowley gave me this letter to give to you." Gilan produced a small envelope from his breast pocket, "It seems he's got an idea of how we can help fix Will. Shall we take a look and see what schemes that old fox has concocted?"

"I'm open to suggestions." Halt replied tiredly as he opened the letter and began to read it.

"Well? Halt, what's he thinking?"

Halt had a soft smile on his face, something Gilan had rarely ever seen. The ranger felt a flicker of hope at the sight.

"I think this just might work."

o0o_o0o_o0o

 **A/N: Next chapter will be a cheerful one! It's mostly written and I can't wait to share it with you — it's the one where we'll finally start to see some real progress! Yay!**

 **I know I've been giving you all the angst, and I think you - as well as poor Will - deserve some good stuff… Anyway, let me know what you thought about this chapter, your reviews always give me the fuel I need to keep going! 3**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Here it is, folks! Chapter TWELVE (has it been that long already?)! I thought this story was only going to be like, 5 chapters…oops! ANYWAY, this update comes with a special shout-out to QueenAurora, who helped get me out of a deep writer's rut - You go, girl! ;)  
** **PS: I'm _still_ not happy with the first part of this chapter, so I may come back and re-edit it later (I apologize in advance if it seems off). It's the second half where I think things get better. Just FYI. Now, let's get this show on the road! :D**

o0o_o0o_o0o

After many long days and sleepless nights - most especially on behalf of the healers and Halt - Will's pneumonia had finally abated, and at last, the young man was well enough to go home.

Halt, who was clearly eager to return to some semblance of normalcy, had set out for their cabin that morning before the sun had even crested the treetops of the distant woods. Apparently, in their absence, Gilan had been watching over the house and had failed to keep the small house up to Halt's own standard of cleanliness. Which meant Halt felt the need to tidy the place up before he brought Will home…And even though the bleary-eyed boy had tried to protest that it didn't matter - that he was ready to leave right then - Halt had ignored him and had departed solo with the promise that he would be back soon to collect him.

And so Will had watched his master go with pang of remorse in his gut…He felt responsible for all of this. Halt was running himself into the ground caring for _him_ because _he_ was too useless to do it himself.

With a disgruntled sigh, he sunk deeper into his pillows and tried to stretch his weak muscles - well, the ones he had _left_ to stretch.

The knowledge that he couldn't just get up and walk out of there on his own was suffocating…

It was also infuriating. Mentally, he _wanted_ to train but physically he couldn't. And he was tired of resting, but he always felt so exhausted now…

With his body like it was, all he had to keep himself occupied were his thoughts - and there lived his demons. Always reminding him that he was a burden, that he was a useless waste of space. But what could he do about it? He had already tried - and failed - to kill himself. Halt would't allow that to happen again. He had blown his only shot at freedom…He really was useless.

The tears began to prickle in his eyes and he tugged his blankets over his head. If he couldn't do anything else, he might as well sleep. At least in his dreams, he could go anywhere and do anything that he wanted…

…

Will's eyes blinked open when he registered the sound of the door being opened. He had managed to drift off, but it couldn't have been for more than half an hour judging by the sun's placement in the sky. It was too early for Halt to be back already…

And then a feminine voice, quavering with worry, met his ears.

"Will?"

Uh-oh. He wasn't prepared for this right now…His eyes were still red from his earlier breakdown, and he probably looked as bad as he felt. With a herculean effort, he forced his gaze to met Alyss's as she approached the bed.

"Oh, _Will!"_

And then a pair of slender arms were thrown around his neck.

The courier's apprentice hadn't seen her friend since that first night he was taken to the infirmary, and he hadn't even been conscious then. Then he'd come down with pneumonia, and the healers had limited the people who could see him. So, needless to say, Alyss had quite a bit of pent-up concern that she was looking to alleviate.

…Not to mention the fact that the last time they had spoken to each other, it hadn't exactly ended well…

"H-hullo, Alyss…"

"Don't ' _hullo, Alyss'_ me, Will! I've been worried sick!"

"I…I'm sorry." his voice was sincere, though admittedly a little nervous. "Do you have the day off?" he wanted to change the subject.

"No, just this morning," she started, "Lady Pauline is with Halt getting your room and the cabin ready, they gave me some time off to come see you."

Will just nodded. He really hoped Alyss was just there for small talk…

But, of course, she wasn't - and she couldn't contain herself any longer.

"Will…I've been so worried about you! We all thought you were going to die…I've never seen Halt so scared… _I've_ never been so scared…"

Will kept his eyes fixed on the blanket, playing with a little loose thread. "I'm sorry..." he mumbled quietly. "I didn't mean to scare anyone..."

Alyss did her best to refrain from rolling her eyes and huffing indignantly - he didn't mean to _scare_ anyone?!

"I thought I'd lost you, Will…I was terrified…" she said, a bit heatedly, but then she forced herself to speak gently, "I care about you, you're my best friend…I know you were devastated and hurt, and you didn't see an answer, but you didn't have to try to…" her voice broke off suddenly, she couldn't finish that sentence.

"We can figure this out. You, Halt, Gilan, Crowley…me, if you want my help..."

"It's not so simple, Alyss - I just…I didn't want to be a burden to anyone…" Will muttered. "I don't want to live my life as a cripple…and what good am I now?" he added bitterly.

"I'll never be a Ranger like _this_." he gestured weakly to the truncated leg beneath the covers.

"Don't say that!" Alyss snapped, louder than she'd meant to, "You're not a burden! And you can still be a Ranger, you'll see. Do you think Halt will just give up on you? He fought for you, he stayed here night after night, refusing to leave your side. You may not see it, you may not _want_ to see it - but he cares for you Will, he really does. And he wants to give you the best chance he can, but he can only do that if you're willing to accept his help!"

He had shrunk back a little in response to her harsh tone, and her face softened as she took his hand.

"Don't give up, Will."

Will was quiet, but he squeezed her hand gently as he looked at her with teary eyes. He didn't trust his voice to respond without trembling, so he simply nodded.

Alyss smiled and leaned down to placed a kiss on his cheek, then her expression hardened a little and her voice dropped in pitch. .

"And just so you know, if you _ever_ try a stunt like that again, I'll get Horace to beat the stuffing out of you. Understand?"

Will smiled a little through watery eyes. "Yes, Mi'lady…"

"Alright then." Alyss said matter-o-factly as she brushed a single tear from her eye, "Glad we straightened that out."

…

They had been talking for close to an hour when Will's eyes started to glaze over.

"You're tired…You should sleep some before Halt comes back."

"I'd rather…spend my time with you…" Will mumbled in reply. Even through his exhaustion, Alyss could hear his attempt at a flirty tone. It made her smile, and so she relented - not wanting to do anything that might dampen his spirits.

"Oh? Is that so? Well I'm glad…because I'd rather be spending my time with you, too."

She bent in and planted another kiss on his cheek, only this one was soft and lingering. And when she pulled away, she found Will smiling a bit stupidly. It was an expression she found quite adorable really…

Unfortunately, though, the moment was cut short when the door was pushed open and Halt strode inside. If he noticed the teenager's behavior, he had the good grace not to mention it.

"Is he awake?"

"Yes sir, but he's tired. I think he'll likely fall asleep on the way home…" There was a hint of worry in her voice as she brushed a few strands of Will's hair off his forehead. Halt could tell she was concerned about _how_ they would be getting home - but perhaps she didn't want to openly doubt her elder's logistical planning.

 _She's as much a mother hen as her mistress_ , Halt thought wryly to himself.

"Don't worry, Alyss, there's a carriage that'll be taking us home. And speaking of home, Lady Pauline is back in her study and she requested I send you along."

Though the girl looked disappointed, she nodded and began to rise. After all, there was nothing either of them could do for it. After she had straightened her dress, she paused to tousle Will's hair playfully. He looked to be very nearly out of it, but he had just enough awareness left to smile a little bit.

"I'll see you around, Will," she said, and then she headed for the door.

He watched her go and vaguely marveled at the fact that when Alyss was with him, the black voice in his head was silent. It was a realization that made him feel a bit stronger. And then a voice tugged him back to the present, where his mentor stood waiting by his bed with a rolling chair.

"…re you ready? Will? Are you listening to me?"

Halt's voice filtered into his exhausted mind.

"Yes, Halt. I'm ready."

o0o_o0o_o0o

Will had been resting in his bedroom ever since he had arrived back home with Halt a few hours before. Predictably, he was still tired from the pneumonia and the draining healing process so he spent most of his time asleep.

Honestly, Halt had been concerned about how his apprentice would react to being back at home. After all, the last time he had been in his bedroom, he had run away to kill himself…And the ranger had no idea if the cabin would spark some sort of memory or panic attack in Will's still-fragile mind.

However, Will had just seemed tired, and no more sad than usual. Once he'd been helped to his bed, he had laid down and hadn't moved since.

It was a relief for Halt when he saw Crowley walking up the path into the house with a satchel over his shoulder. _Was it finally done?_

Would this finally be the day that Will would see that his life wasn't over?

Halt prayed that it would be as he strode out onto the veranda to meet his friend. His eyes automatically scanning down to look at the discolored patch of wood…but —

"I replaced them, Halt." Gilan's voice came from behind him as the younger man followed him outside to greet Crowley.

He wasn't sure how he felt about that. It wasn't Gilan's cabin, but then again, he knew deep down the behavior was unhealthy. A monument to a tragedy…

"Will has enough _reminders_ of that day…I thought he could do with one less…"

Halt only nodded, Gilan was right. It was better for Will. And there was no time to dwell on it anyway.

"Hullo, Crowley," Halt said, though he was more excited to see his old friend than he let on.

The pair of men clasped forearms and Crowley pulled Halt in for a bear hug.

"It's good to see you." Halt mumbled in the other man's ear.

"And it's good to be seen!" Crowley said with a cheerful voice as he pulled away. "Now, where is that apprentice that's been giving all of Araluen premature grey hairs?!"

"Any grey hair you get now are far from premature, Crowley…" Gilan sniped from his seat on the veranda.

"Ah _Gilan_ , that reminds me, I brought some paperwork along for you to look at! I'm glad you said something, things do slip from this old noggin of mine…who knows, I might have forgotten!" Crowley said with an evil grin as he sauntered past the younger man.

Halt smirked as Gilan's expression changed to one of disappointed horror. Eventually he would learn not to make snarky comments to the commandant. He patted his former apprentice's shoulder as he followed Crowley into the cabin.

"Come on, let's go see Will."

Gilan smiled up at Halt as he rose from his seat, "Aye, I think he'll like what we've got for him."

"I hope so."

…

Halt, Crowley, and Gilan entered Will's room in a single file line and stood quietly at the foot of his bed.

Will, for his part, was glad that Halt had placed some pillows behind his back and had helped him to sit up earlier…he would have felt even more pathetic than he already did if he were laying here like a limp noodle in front of three of the corps greatest rangers…

But then a thought popped into his head…why _were_ three of the greatest rangers in the corps in his bedroom…oh no, this was it. Crowley was going to terminate his apprenticeship…

The three men saw the way Will's expression changed from surprised to worried, and Halt cleared his throat quietly. He realized Will was probably misinterpreting the commandant's presence and he didn't think causing his apprentice the extra stress was necessary.

The other two rangers understood. And at that moment, they both pulled the items they held out from behind their backs.

Halt stood with his hands empty and his arms crossed.

Will's eyes dropped down to the parcels; noting that whatever Gilan was holding was quite large and was tightly bundled in a piece of leather, and that Crowley's item was very small.

And now all three men - the three men Will looked up to most in his life - looked down at him with their own sort of caring expressions. But for some reason, he felt slightly uneasy…what was going on…?

It was Gilan who spoke first, stepping forward and laying his burden down on the bed - in the empty space where Will's foot should have been.

"Will," he started, then looked quickly to Halt and Crowley for some assistance. Predictably, he didn't get any.

"We…I mean to say, Halt, Crowley, and myself…we've designed something for you…" his hands were working clumsily now to unwrap the leather as he spoke. Carefully, each piece of the shrouding material was pulled away, until finally the item inside was revealed.

It was one of the most complicated looking prosthetic limbs that Will had ever seen…

"It's a new leg! But, obviously, it's also much more than that." Gilan spoke softly. Will's face was unreadable as his eyes scanned the object before him. He didn't notice the way everyone was holding their breath as they waited for him to react.

The _leg_ was made mostly of wood, but it had quite a bit of metal and leather on it as well. Just from a cursory glance, Will could see several different contraptions, gears, and compartments. And then he noticed the beautiful hand carved oakleaf motif that decorated any available space on the surface…He was speechless.

"This, Will…is the first ever _Ranger's_ _prosthesis_!" Gilan stepped forward and placed it carefully into Will's arms.

It was such a surreal moment, Will thought, as he stared down at his new _leg_ , and tried to believe that this _thing_ would really and truly help him. Would _fix_ him.

He ran a finger carefully over a leaf, admiring it. It looked strikingly similar to the ones he'd seen Halt carve…And then suddenly it hit him - how much his friends had done for him through all of this…

Finally, Will tore his eyes away from the leg. There were tears dancing along his eyelids, threatening to overflow and cascade down his cheeks, though he did his best to hide them.

Crowley smiled at the boy as he stepped forward, taking Gilan's place. There was a small leather box sitting in his hand. He was looking at Will in a peculiar way, mulling over exactly how he wanted to say what he needed to say…

This was, after all, a very unusual circumstance, and what he was about to do was far from customary - though it was absolutely necessary.

"Will, we have something else for you…" he held out the unassuming little box in front of him.

The boy looked at him in a slightly suspicious sort of way but didn't ask any questions. After a moment, he reached out and lifted the case from Crowley's outstretched hand.

"Well go on, lad, open it! It won't snap your fingers off!"

Will gave the commandant one more brief look, before he finally lifted the lid - and froze.

It was a silver oak leaf…

The boy sat there in silence, staring at the intricately crafted symbol with a look of awe, followed by uncertainty. He didn't know what they were playing at, but it was cruel to taunt him this way…to put something that was likely unreachable in the palm of his hand…

Halt seemed to sense what Will was thinking, because he spoke next, "Why don't you take it out and flip it over." He had said it nicely, but clearly it wasn't a suggestion.

The young man obliged.

Lifting it reverently from its box, he turned it over, and read the inscription that was etched across the back of the fine silver. It read: "William - King's Ranger of Araluen"

As he stared at every little detail of the badge, he didn't know what to say…except -

"But I'm not a ranger. I haven't completed my training…and I'm so far behind…I can't even run, and I -"

Crowley was already chuckling and shaking his head.

"Will, listen to me." The commandant's voice was firm and authoritative, but still maintained that air of kindness it always possessed. Will ceased his rambling and tried to make sense of all this.

"I never told anyone, but I had this made the day Halt wrote me and told me of his new apprentice…Because I knew right then, just from what he said, that you were going to be one of the greatest rangers this kingdom has ever known. You are still the same person you were when Halt first took you in. He chose you because he saw the quality of your heart and the strength of your spirit - and since neither of those things are stored in your feet, it's safe to assume that you still have what it takes to be ranger…"

Crowley paused and looked to Halt, who nodded slightly in affirmation, then he continued.

"With that amazing new leg and your indomitable spirit, Halt and I believe that you'll soon be back in top physical condition. But in the meantime, the Ranger Corps will do whatever is necessary to help you along."

Will looked grateful, and perhaps a little unsure, so Crowley doubled down - doing his absolute best to make Will believe the truth of what he was saying.

"Will…We have never doubted that you will one day wear this oakleaf around your neck…So don't _you_ doubt it. Understand? You were _born_ to be a ranger, and a ranger _you will be!"_ Then he gave Will an appraising look, "I want you to hold onto that for me. Look at it if you ever start to doubt - and when your training is complete, I'll give it you officially."

The boy said nothing in response. He was overwhelmed…to hear Crowley express his faith in him…it meant a great deal.

But it was only when Halt spoke next, voice gruff and quiet, that Will truly believed what the men had been telling him.

"I have watched you grow, Will, from a boy into a man. I have been proud of you every day - even since the day I carried you to the ward and left you there to grow up. I have cared about you, and… _loved_ you…every day. There are no conditions on that, Will. You don't have to be a ranger to be part of my life, you could be a bard for all I care…but I will always be proud of you. No matter what."

Halt's voice broke off and he sniffed loudly - right before elbowing Crowley in the sternum.

" _Oof!_ — What was that for!?" The commandant yelped while massaging his chest.

Halt didn't even need to glance behind himself to know his friend had been smirking at his heartfelt confession. Crowley should know better…

"I could hear you smiling."

"You can't _hear_ someone smiling, you mean old bear!"

"Well, I could hear _you_ smiling. Wasn't he smiling, Will?"

Will was looking on with a true smile on his face. The expression familiar, though it had been long-absent. Then he gave Crowley a weak apologetic glance.

"Sorry, Crowley…He was smiling, Halt…Grinning like a possum, actually…"

Halt sent another elbow back at Crowley which was easily dodged, however, Halt's plan had been to stomp on his friend's toes while he was distracted - and that worked out exactly as he'd planned.

"Son of a —! Dammit, Halt!"

But as Crowley launched into a fantastic curse-filled tirade, and Gilan giggled in the background, Halt and Will were only paying attention to each other. The sounds of angry words faded to the backs of their minds as master and apprentice shared a smile, and then Halt was leaning down to hug his apprentice.

"Don't worry, Will…Everything will be alright."

o0o_o0o_o0o

 **A/N: Don't look so hopeful, this isn't the end yet! I still have more tortu—ur…I mean** ** _STORY_** **for you and Will! XD Thanks so much for reading, see ya next time!  
**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Thank you all for the awesome reviews and support, you guys are so sweet! I'm blown away that people actually like this story! I just hope you won't hate me after you read this chapter, I've been a little stressed out and sad lately, so I think I'm gonna make Will suffer a little bit to make myself feel better…MUAHAHAHA.**

o0o_o0o_o0o

Will was well rested, but somehow, he still felt restless…Today was the day he was going to try out his new prosthetic.

Crowley had headed back to Castle Araluen earlier that morning, and since his departure, Will had been sitting on his bed staring at his legs.

With his one good foot on the floor, he rolled his ankle absentmindedly, then looked disappointedly at his shortened right leg…

 _Inadequate. Useless. Burden. Hopeless. Incomplete. Worthless._

A torrent of self-deprecating words sloshed around in his mind as he studied his _deficiency_.

 _No!_ He thought firmly, rebuking the doubt that was trying to defeat him. _I have to try…I will…_ His eyes locked onto the silver oakleaf that Crowley had hung on his bedpost. He tried to draw strength from it.

Then he took a deep breath and shifted his gaze once more, eyes now focused intently on the new leg. He wondered if he would ever get used to the fact that part of him was now an object. But maybe it wouldn't be so bad…He reached out and picked it up to examine the fasteners and gadgets, trying to acquaint himself with it a little better.

This would be the first time he wore it.

Crowley and Gilan had instructed him in the proper way to put it on the night before, but Will had been adamant that no one be in the room when he _installed_ it. Thankfully they hadn't pressed the issue…He just didn't want them seeing his leg.

His cheeks briefly flamed scarlet - it was bad enough that Halt and Gilan had seen it when he had been unconscious. At least then he hadn't been aware of the humiliation…But now that he could control who saw it, he guarded it from everyone…He just couldn't bear to see their pitying glances - because he knew if he did, it would destroy what was left of him.

Will's fingers played with the supple leather straps for a few more seconds as he worked up the courage to attach the limb. Halt was probably outside the door waiting to bang on it if he didn't hurry up.

It was time.

The nerves in his stump were extremely sensitive he'd found out, so he eased his leg into the cup at the top, careful not to pinch himself. Then he began working with the fasteners to secure it into place. It was uncomfortable, but it was like learning to wear any new type of gear, he figured - it would take some getting used to…

Once he had finished and deemed that everything looked correct, he stretched both legs out in front of him to examine the end product.

Initially, the sight was bizarre, and a bit jarring. But…it also looked kind of cool.

Now came the hard part: He needed to stand up and put weight on it. And he was terrified.

"Halt?" he called softly and the door swung open a second later. Of course he had been waiting just outside the door…

"How does it feel?" Halt asked, his tone was even but Will thought he heard a touch of anxiousness buried deep within.

"Like my shoe is on too tight. I don't know how walking will feel…"

"One step at a time, Will. Here," he extended his hands out for the boy to grasp onto. "I won't let you fall."

Will nodded with determination and took his mentor's hands. He inhaled deeply and looked the man in the eye one last time. Halt gave him a nod of encouragement as Will began to stand up, his grip firm as he guided his apprentice to his feet.

For a moment, Will stood next to Halt, his face pale and slightly green. Sweat rolled down the side of his face and Halt's eyebrows drew together.

"Will?" But before he had time to finish his question, Will's leg began to buckle.

Halt had expected this - Will's amputation site was alight with nerves that had never felt this sensation before, and his body was trying to alleviate the pressure on the injury - but it still hurt him to see his apprentice in such pain. He wasn't about to let Will go down, though…Will needed to stand, to _walk_ out of that bedroom. He had sat too long in doubt, fearing that he would never move again…

In a second, the older man stepped to Will's side and pulled his skinny arm around his neck, offering to be a human crutch.

"We can do this, lean on me, Will…That's it…"

Will didn't answer, he was in too much pain and concentrating too hard to respond. But Halt felt him stand a little straighter. He was still strong.

The two men hobbled slowly from the room and out into the living space. Gilan was sitting on the edge of his seat, hawk-like eyes watching Will's every move - ready to spring up and catch him at a moments notice.

"…'s okay, Gil…I can…make it," Will said as reassuringly as he could to his friend. His limp was becoming more apparent with each step, but he stifled his cries of agony. He didn't want his them to know just how much this hurt.

Not to be deterred, Gilan gave Will a crooked smile that seemed to say _'yeah, suuure'_ , and continued to watch him closely.

Will's breathing was shallow and fast by the time he reached the couch and Halt decided that was far enough for the time being. He steered Will to the seat and lowered him down on it, allowing Will to rest for a bit.

The cabin was mostly silent while Will leaned his head back and closed his eyes. His complexion was still pallid, and he had a cold sweat covering his face.

Halt could recognize the symptoms of someone about to faint, so he strode over to the kitchen to fetch a small towel, which he hastily dunked in the cool water that sat in a bucket on the counter before returning to Will's side and pressing the cold cloth to his face.

"Will?"

He didn't respond immediately, and Halt doubted if he had even heard his voice.

"Will?" He tried again, a little louder this time.

Gilan spoke up then, leaned over in his chair to get a better look at Will's face. "Give him a minute, Halt, he'll be okay."

As if on cue, Will's eyes opened slowly and he looked around a little bit. Then he seemed to put together what had happened and his face turned red.

Halt, who was always aware of whatever people were thinking or feeling, picked up on Will's shame in a heartbeat.

"You did well, Will, you have nothing to be embarrassed about."

He was met with a huff from his apprentice who looked away from him.

"I can barely walk 20 feet without fainting. How is that anything to be proud of…"

"At least you made it to the chair first!" Gilan's cheerful voice piped in, but it didn't make Will smile.

"You can be proud because you made it out of your room! Of course the first few weeks won't be easy, Will, but you can't let that discourage you. Do you remember the first time you shot a bow? It was hard to draw back the string, and it slapped your arm - but you learned how to use it properly - you practiced, and didn't give up, and it got easier! This is no different…"

"How do you know." Will's voice was quiet, but the tone was bitter. Halt suppressed his annoyance at the backtalk and took a deep breath before responding.

"What would you like me to say, Will?" He shook his head "I don't know. Does that make you feel better to hear? This is all new for me, too. And even though I'm not the one who's injured, don't you dare think for one second that I wasn't hurt by what happened to you! I'm doing my best…"

And for the first time that Will could remember, Halt looked…defeated. And Will felt terrible for that.

"I'm sorry, Halt…I shouldn't take this out on you. I didn't mean to."

Gilan watched the pair with a slight frown on his face. Both of them were a tad inept when it came to opening up, but at least they were _trying_ to get through this. He just hoped they could manage without too many conflicts along the way. That was the last thing they needed right now…

"Can I go out to see Tug?"

Will's question was a bit surprising considering he had barely made it to the living room, but Halt didn't want to disappoint Will, and Tug had been missing his rider quite a bit…

"Aye, that would probably do the little beast some good — And Tug, too."

Halt eyed Will to see if he'd gotten any sort of reaction, but Will just gave him a forced smile. He missed the days when Will laughed…

"Alright." his voice serious again as he strode over to hook Will's arm around his neck. "And just so you know, _I'm_ the grumpy ranger around this cabin, and there can only be one, so choose a different personality quirk."

Will rolled his eyes as he stood up with Halt, his mind was now back on the task at hand so he ignored his master. Again.

"I'm ready," he said quietly, and the two men started slowly for the door.

It was an instinct to hop and not put any weight on his leg, but Will forced himself to put pressure on the new leg. He wouldn't ever get anywhere if he babied himself. And it didn't take long for Halt to notice his technique.

"Slowly, Will. You won't master it in one day, no sense in wearing yourself out."

"I'm fine."

They continued on slowly, Will was exerting himself too much, but Halt chose not to press it. He figured that Will would figure it out on his own. After all, they were both new to this.

It took an infuriatingly long amount of time to reach the barn, by Will's estimation anyway, but he was cheered up by the sudden grey ball of fuzziness that soon whizzed into view.

"Tug!" Will called happily, as he tried unsuccessfully to get out of Halt's grip.

The older man held firm onto Will's wrist - the younger man didn't seem to realize his limits yet and Halt knew it would bite him soon enough…

"I can do it," he grumbled, as he squirmed a bit against Halt, trying to break the man's hold on his arm.

Halt looked at Will, then at Tug, and finally he relented. Though he still helped Will to lean against the fence rails so he could pet the shaggy pony.

Will was chuckling quietly as he played with Tug, who was extremely excited to see his boy once again. He had been worried over his small friend…The nuzzles and nudges he doled out conveyed that sentiment plainly to Will.

"I missed you, too, Tug…I missed you, too."

From a distance, Halt stood still and watched. His many years as a ranger had taught him how to read a person's body language like it were the text of a book - and he used that skill now to assess Will. He could see that the young man was in considerable pain, and that he was trying to ignore it - to _hide_ it. The ranger's eyebrows dipped together so they were almost touching.

As much as he endorsed letting someone learn a lesson the hard way, his protective instincts were kicking in. It was time for them to go inside.

He approached Will and set a hand on the young man's shoulder, pausing in concern when he felt the trembling beneath his fingers.

"It's time to rest. Come on,"

"I'm fine, Halt." Will wasn't looking at him, but Halt noticed an edge in his voice that wasn't there before.

"Will, I said it's time to go inside _now_ —"

And suddenly - either from the pain, exhaustion, stress, frustration, depression, or some combination of all five - Will began to crack.

"Leave me alone, Halt! I said I'm fine!"

The man scowled at Will, he did not like being defied by his apprentice, especially when he was just trying to take care of him. This month hadn't been easy on him either, and he was as tired and drained as Will was. And in his own moment of weakness, his mouth started moving before he had time to shut it down.

"You're fine, are you? You can't even _walk_ , Will!"

It all happened so fast. The words were out before he even had time to think, and then his heart sunk into his boots when he realized what he had just said. What he'd done.

 _'_ _No, Will - I didn't mean that! I'm sorry!_ ' he wanted to scream, but his tongue was as frozen as his apprentice's heart.

Upon hearing Halt's words, Will's hand had fallen limply from where it had been resting on Tug's soft nose, his eyes dropped to the ground. In the span of two seconds and four words, Will's hope - the thing Halt had been trying so desperately to kindle - had been demolished.

"Will,"

But Will wasn't moving. He had turned into a statue, even his trembling had ceased. His eyes were wide and stared unseeingly at the dirt.

…Halt had never felt regret so deeply in all his life. He reached out a hand, but Will jerked away violently.

And when his apprentice finally turned to look at him, his gaze stopped Halt in his tracks. It was a look of utter betrayal, distrust, and hurt. A look he never thought he would see on Will's face - a look he never imagined would be directed at him…

Then Will was stumbling, trying to get away from him and make his way toward the house despite the excruciating pain it was causing him. Each step he took tore a greater hole in Halt's heart…

"Will!" he called as he quickly caught up to his student, trying to grab both of his arms to stop him. He had to fix this -

He hadn't expected the weak shove he received from Will. It wasn't enough to knock him down like it would have been months ago, but the message was still clear…

A second later, Will was off again, leaving Halt to watch helplessly as he stumbled and dragged himself toward the house. This never should have happened…

And then Gilan appeared on the porch. A look of concern plastered on his face as he caught sight of Halt standing alone and Will struggling to get to the house through distraught tears…

"Will!? What the hell is going on?" he looked at Halt as he rushed down the steps but Halt looked as if he'd been turned to stone. He would deal with that later…

Gilan was more concerned with Will at the moment, so he moved to assist him first - trying to help him stand up and walk instead of continuing with the current step-crumple-stand up-repeat gait he was currently executing. But his attempts were rejected and shoved angrily away as well.

This was the last sort of behavior Gilan expected from Will, and wondered what had set him off. Surely Halt hadn't done this?

Will had reached the porch by that time, and was almost frantic to get inside. His movements were violent and out of control, more like a wolverine with its paw caught in a trap than a human. He clawed at the door and struggled to stand, all the while making pitiful noises, either from pain or sorrow - or both. It was a distressing scene to witness…

And then the door to the house slammed shut and the yard fell silent, aside from the worried nickers from Tug, who had no idea what was going on.

"…Halt - what on earth happened!?" Gilan demanded, his heart still pounding from the sudden confusion and panic.

"I said something awful to him, Gilan…I did this…"

The tall ranger had feared something like that had happened. He tried to keep his voice relaxed when he spoke next.

"Halt, tell me what you said…"

o0o_o0o_o0o

Will's sobs were so deep they had sent him into a coughing fit as he lay defeated on his bed.

He couldn't believe it… _Halt_ had echoed the words of that black voice inside his head. _Halt_ had said the thing that could cut him the deepest. _Halt_ \- the one person who he believed would never say anything like that to him…

The betrayal hurt worse than his leg, which was throbbing horrifically from the abuse he had just dealt it. He knew he should try to look at it, but he was too upset to care. Without thinking, he ripped the leg from his stump and prepared to throw it against the wall - but at the last moment, he stopped, and simply dropped it onto the floor. His strength was gone.

And his leg was a mess.

The frantic run to the house had caused the end of the leg to become red and swollen. The skin was hot to the touch, and Will's tears fell faster.

He wished he had never tried to walk. He wished he had died when he jumped in that river. He wished that arrow had hit his heart instead of his leg. But none of that had happened. He was still alive - and every day seemed to bring a new trauma for him.

 _When will it end?_

And then, like the universe was intentionally mocking him, there was a knock on the door which caused him to stiffen and hold his breath…He knew there was a fifty-fifty chance that the person on the other side was the last person on earth he wanted to see.

The house was silent for a bit, then he heard footsteps retreating. Will was just starting to think he had finally gotten lucky when the knock came back. He still didn't answer, but gave up on the hope of being left alone. The door creaked open.

"Hey Will," it was Gilan's voice.

Will said nothing.

"I, well…I just wanted to see how your leg was doing. I brought you some tea with some pain relieving tonic. I figured it'd help with the soreness -" his voice broke off when Will didn't move. This was quite a mess.

He walked over to Will's bed and stood there for a moment looking down on the sad lump his friend had become.

"Will, I need to look at your leg." he said as he reached for the covers to pull them aside.

Which was the moment Will chose to sit up and glare at Gilan.

"No." the younger man growled. It was like he was a different person…

"Will - I just want to make sure you didn't hurt it…I promise I won't —"

"I don't give a damn about your promises, Gilan. Or Halt's. Or Crowley's…Get the hell out of my room."

And with that he laid down with a thud and jerked the blankets back over his head.

Gilan stood there in silence for a moment. He had never, in all the years he'd known him, heard Will talk to anyone that way. It stung, but he tried to ignore it. Will was just hurt…He'd be fine in the morning once he cooled down…

He hoped.

o0o_o0o_o0o

"…How is he?"

Gilan shook his head and placed the untouched tea on the hutch in the kitchen before joining his friend at the table. Halt's heart sank, he'd hoped that Will would at least take something to ease the physical pain…

"I messed up, Gilan." Halt ran his hands over his face and through his hair.

"No arguments there."

"Now is not the time, Gilan…"

"I'm not joking, Halt. You messed up…" Gilan's voice was icy at first, but he quickly calmed down and returned to its usually easy-going tone. "So how do we fix it?"

Halt sighed in frustration. "I don't know. I really don't."

"Well…There's always one way to beg for forgiveness…"

"And what's that?"

"You _beg_. And you mean it."

Halt, in all of his life, had never begged for anything. The very notion of it repulsed him. But, with Will…He'd do things for Will he would not do for anyone else…It might be worth a shot.

…

He knocked gently before entering, half expecting something to come flying at his head when he entered the room, but nothing happened. Will was lying under his blanket, ignoring him.

"Will, I have some things I need to say to you. You don't have to respond, I just want you to hear them…"

Will didn't give any encouragement. But at least he wasn't trying to kick him out.

"I've lived a life that has involved few apologies…mainly because I've always tried to live a life that was honorable and good…But that doesn't mean that I have never made an error, or that I refuse to say sorry when I've wronged someone."

He paused and took a shuddering breath, praying that Will would take his words to heart.

"What I said to you outside — Will, I'm so sorry…I have made mistakes in the past, but I count this among the greatest of them. There is no excuse for what I said, and so I don't ask you to try to understand what I meant…I just…beg that you'll forgive me…"

Will hadn't moved under the covers during Halt's speech, but slowly he started to shift. As he finally sat up, the covers fell away and revealed a drawn face with dark purple bags under eyes that were red from tears. The look he gave his mentor was one of disappointment and hurt.

"Well, at least you said it to my face, Halt…Anyone can stab you in the back, but only real friends stab you from the front…"

Halt was starting to feel hopeless and desperate. What if he had irreparably damaged the boy he cared for so deeply…

"Will - _Son, please_ …believe me - it was never my intent to hurt you at all!"

Perhaps it was the way Halt had said the word "son", or perhaps it was just the fact that he'd called him that in the first place…but suddenly Will's face changed.

"…I am no one's son, Halt. I am just Will No-Name, the one-legged freak. I am nothing." Will's voice wasn't angry, or bitter. His tone wasn't antagonistic, it was just monotone and empty.

Halt listened, brokenhearted to hear his apprentice speak so lowly of himself. He was ashamed for having added to the sea of doubt Will was drowning in…He walked forward and sat on Will's bed. He stared down at his hands and was relieved when he wasn't shoved away.

"You're _my_ son, Will." he whispered, a tear dropping into his lap as he spoke.

These were thoughts that had often crossed his mind in quiet moments of reflection, but they were truths he never planned to utter out loud.

"I think of you that way…You are everything I admire, everything I would want my son to be…You are perfect. And I'm so sorry that I failed you…"

Will was quiet as he listened to Halt's impromptu, yet heartfelt, speech. Some part of him told him he should still be angry at the man sitting next to him, but another part of him - the stronger part - told him to let it be.

There were reasons to be angry, yes…but he had far more reasons to forgive. Light will always chase away the darkness.

Will leaned forward and patted Halt's shoulder. He'd never seen the man so vulnerable. He looked like a puppy…

"Will…"

"Yes, Halt?"

"Could…" the grumpy ranger's voice broke off. Will figured he either couldn't find the words, or was just too self-conscious to ask them. However, Will had an idea as to what he'd wanted —

"Aye," Will replied "but just the one."

Then the two men embraced…Each one trying to convey, through the strength of their grip alone, all the things they could never put into words.

o0o_o0o_o0o

 **A/N: I'm sorry for this chapter…I hope things didn't get too OoC here, but I really wanted to explore with their personalities and play with them a little bit.**


	14. Chapter 14

Halt stayed in Will's room for awhile after their reconciliation, wanting to show with his actions, not just his words, that he truly was sorry.

At first they had talked, then they had sat comfortably in silence. Once Will had calmed down, it became apparent that he was exhausted by the trials of the day. His eyelids grew heavy, and soon enough, he was drifting off.

"Will?"

"Hm?" Will didn't open his eyes, floating somewhere in that empty world between wakefulness and sleep.

"I need to take a look at your leg…"

"Mm." Was the young man's reply, and though it wasn't technically a word, it didn't _sound_ like he was opposed to Halt's suggestion.

Halt moved forward and pulled aside the blanket to inspect Will's leg. It looked about as bad as he'd assumed it would after Will's abuse of it earlier. He studied the red skin and swollen tissue and frowned a little. There were spots on Will's leg where he could see the prosthetic had rubbed the skin raw…

Pulling his eyes away from Will's leg, he cast his gaze around the room looking for the limb before spotting it on the floor by the wall. He stood quietly to retrieve it before sitting back down.

He examined it closely, running his fingers along the cup where Will's stump would rest - it was smooth, but still, he imaged raw wood against bare skin had to be uncomfortable, and he could foresee it causing problems for Will sooner rather than later.

Then he had an idea - a simple fix for a simple problem. But first, he needed to take care of Will's leg. He had managed to alleviate some of Will's mental anguish (even though he had also been the cause of it), now he had try to do the same for the physical pain as well.

Setting the limb down, he moved silently out of the room and into the kitchen. It didn't take long for him to gather together all the necessary ingredients he needed to make the analgesic mixture for Will's leg, and then he was back by Will's side.

Will didn't even wake when Halt placed his leg in the liquid, but he did let out a sigh when the pain relief started to take effect.

The master watched his student for a few minutes, and when he was satisfied that Will was resting well, he headed for his own bedroom - though he was not going there to sleep.

Against the wall of his bedroom stood a small cupboard. He kept things in there that were necessary for life's small repairs: thread, needles, leather, patches or cloth, spare buckles, buttons, and so on. Like all things in his life, Halt kept it in perfect order, so it took him only a minute to get everything he needed. With his small armful of supplies and a design in his mind, he headed back to Will.

o0o_o0o_o0o

Gilan had decided, after a brief deliberation with himself, to take his reports to Baron Arald while Halt was talking with Will…After all, there was precious little he could do for either of them at that point, save give them space and hope that things were better when he returned.

And so he'd set out on Blaze at a slower-than-normal pace, trying to give his friends the time they needed to mend their fractured bond.

…

 _That meeting ran a little long_ , Gilan thought as he looked up at the sky upon leaving Arald's tower. He noted that he'd been gone for about two hours, then felt a small twinge of anxiety in his gut as he thought about what could have transpired in his absence…

 _God, I hope nothing else has gone wrong,_ he thought, _but whatever the case_ , _it's probably time to head back._

And it had been then, as he was making his way back to the stable to retrieve his pony for the journey home, that he was stopped by two unexpected female voices: Lady Pauline and Alyss…both of whom were beaming as they trotted up to him.

"Gilan! Wait!" Alyss called as Gilan stopped in his tracks and waited for them.

"Thank God we caught you! We have a favor to ask…"

…

The ride home had seemed shorter than usual - probably because he had been too lost in thought to notice the passage of time…But soon the cabin came into view and Gilan was forced abruptly back into the present.

As he looked around, he noted hopefully that Halt wasn't on the porch - the old man's go-to spot when he was upset…but that didn't mean he couldn't be sulking inside the house somewhere.

With a sigh, Gilan hurriedly turned Blaze out and dropped off a few items in the barn before finally making his way into the house to check on his friends.

Again, he felt relief when he didn't find Halt in the living room. Perhaps he was still with Will…

Carefully, Gilan made his way to Will's room and opened the door, and he was immediately taken aback by what he saw —

Halt was sitting in his chair at a sleeping Will's bedside - and he was sewing.

 _Well…That's not what I was expecting,_ Gilan thought bemusedly as he stood quietly, watching his former mentor's rough hands moving methodically, making tiny, meticulous stitches to a piece of lamb's hide…

Though, he couldn't quite figure out what Halt was making.

"You can come in, Gilan, he's fast asleep."

The younger man made his way to Halt so he could peer down at what he was working on. But before he inquired about it, he had something else to ask.

"How is he?" he whispered "Did you talk to him? Is he still upset?"

Halt didn't look away from his task, but he sighed in exasperation.

"You're as bad as Will." Halt paused "He's doing better. I spoke with him."

When the old ranger failed to elaborate, Gilan decided he'd better let it go for the time being.

"What is that?"

"It's a kind of sock - for his stump." He dropped his needle and then turned the thing he held inside out for Gilan to examine.

The soft lamb's wool was now inside, while the skin faced outward. Gilan eyed it, a little impressed. Halt had made sure the stitches were on the outside, and there were no seams that could be felt by Will.

"That's amazing, Halt!"

"Well, I noticed his leg was rubbed raw in a few places by the wood. I didn't think about that before…This should also help keep him warm. I'll make him a few more if this one works well…"

"Has he seen it?"

"No. He's exhausted - passed out after we…talked. I'll give it to him when he wakes."

Gilan smiled down at his friend "He's going to appreciate it, Halt." and then he gasped like he'd just remembered something "Oh, and speaking of appreciation - come outside, I have something to show you before Will wakes up."

Halt looked curiously up at Gilan as he hesitantly set his project aside for the moment, then he rose to follow the other man.

"What's going on, Gilan?"

The younger man's reply was infuriatingly vague, but his cheerful demeanor kept Halt relaxed.

"You'll see!"

o0o_o0o_o0o

Will was feeling a bit annoyed. Who was prodding at him? Couldn't they tell he was asleep? It was really quite rude…What were they doing, anyway?

His eyebrows furrowed as his brain started to engage. He didn't want to wake up yet, he still felt tired…Maybe if he ignored them, they would go away soon and he could go back to sleep.

No such luck.

The unwanted contact continued until he could take it no more, then his eyes opened.

"Did I wake you?" Halt asked him, obviously the man was oblivious to how disruptive his actions were.

Will stared at him for a few seconds without blinking. _Is he being thick on purpose just to annoy me?_

"Uh…Yeah," he deadpanned. "What are you _doing_ …"

His eyes had traveled down and spotted the odd _cap_ that was covering his stump.

"What is that…"

Halt could hardly contain the proud look on his face as he gently pulled the thing off of Will's leg and handed it to his apprentice.

"It's a kind of sock, something to add a little extra padding and warmth for your leg. It should keep blistering and sores down to a minimum. I was just checking to see how it fit you when you woke up."

Will held the object in his hands and pinched the fur a bit to judge the cushion of the material. It was actually a good idea, and he was impressed with the fine stitches.

He looked up at Halt, and for some reason, he felt a little overwhelmed. It was a common sensation for him lately, it seemed. _What is the matter with me?_

"Did you come up with that?"

"Yes, I thought of it after I took care of your leg, then I threw a prototype together while you slept." He held up the sock and gave it a little wave. "Do you want to try it on? Tell me how it feels?"

Will nodded, and then Halt leaned down to tug the cap over his apprentice's leg.

And surprisingly, it was actually pretty comfortable. Halt placed his hand on the end of Will's leg and gave it a slight squeeze.

"How does that feel? Does it hurt?"

"No…It feels strange, maybe uncomfortable, but it doesn't hurt."

"Can we see how it feels with the leg on?"

"Yeah, here," Will reached out for the false limb Halt had picked up by the foot of the bed "I'll do it."

Halt handed him the leg and Will grasped it tightly before sliding his leg slowly into the cup…It felt tight, but it wasn't a bad feeling…He frowned in concentration then threw his legs over the side of the bed.

Will cast Halt a quick look and the man understood what the younger man wanted. A second later, he was by Will's side, helping him to stand.

The older man kept his eyes on Will's face while he tried to find his balance. He felt immense relief when Will didn't cry out in pain or stumble.

Will put a little more pressure on the leg and smiled, "Huh…It-it's great, Halt - thank you,"

Halt gave one of his rare smiles as he turned Will toward the living room, "You're welcome, Will…Now, let's go get some coffee…"

The young man's face lit up "You know, even with the sock, that might be your best idea of the day."

He received a mock-derisive snort from his friend as the smiling pair hobbled out of the room together.

o0o_o0o_o0o

The coffee had done wonders for Will, both for his mood and his energy levels. And for the first time in a long time, he felt truly optimistic.

"Can I train some today?"

Halt sipped his coffee and gave Gilan a thoughtful look - like maybe they knew something Will didn't and were toying with him…

"What do you think Gilan? Do you think he's ready?"

Gilan did his best to appear serious as he gave Will an appraising look, then nodded his head to Halt.

"Aye, I think he can manage a little training…Doesn't cleaning tack count as training, Halt?"

Halt rubbed his chin a bit, "Hm…It does, Gilan. It does."

Will's face fell a bit. He didn't want to clean tack…he wanted to do something else - something with a bow, or Tug…Surely they knew that. Why would they torture him like this?

"I brought your saddle up to the porch, Will, you should come outside and get started. I'll even clean mine with you!" Gilan finished happily, but Will was hardly in the mood now.

"Let's just get it over with." he grumbled as Halt helped him out to the porch. Gilan following behind.

"Well," Halt began as they made their way through the door, "you've got your work cut out for you,"

Will stopped dead in his tracks, almost causing Halt to pull him over.

Standing in the yard, groomed beautifully and adorned with sparkling tack, stood Tug. And on his back sat a lovely new saddle.

Temporarily forgetting about his leg, Will tried to move forward on his own toward his pony, the muscular little creature was positively quivering with excitement and pride.

His fuzzy-yet-expressive face clearly showed his thoughts: _Look, Will! Don't I look handsome!?_

"Tug…" Will gawked, then turned to looked at his mentor. He was stunned "Halt…I…"

Halt just smiled at him.

"The saddle is a gift from Lady Pauline - and Alyss. It was just finished earlier today. Even I didn't know about it. But you can thank Gilan for how clean your beast is."

Will's eyes sparked as he finally managed to pull Halt over to his faithful pony. He didn't even realize when Halt let him go and he stood on his own beside the small horse.

"Tug hasn't been ridden in a while - I think he could use a little exercise. Just walking, and only around the yard, though, am I clear?"

Will looked around and saw that Halt was standing several feet away from him. He was standing on his own! And his cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling. Then his eyes locked with Halt's, and he nodded.

"Just around the yard…" he affirmed.

Halt walked over and knelt with his hands clasped together, ready to give Will a boost, "And _just_ walking!"

Will nodded again as he put his left shin in Halt's hands and allowed himself to be pushed up onto his pony.

Gilan walked over and gave Will a huge smile.

"Is this the kind of training you were hoping for?"

Again, with his emotions overflowing, Will was only capable of nodding.

"Let's see how that fancy new saddle works, then. We'll be right here watching…Be safe."

Will smiled and nodded again, leaning down to slip his prosthetic foot into a special-looking stirrup. It felt strange, and he wondered if it would work…but then, just when he'd expected to hear the black voice whisper doubts in his ear, he heard Alyss's voice instead - reassuring him gently.

 _You'll get used to it, and soon it'll be second nature! You can do it._

Halt patted Tug's rump affectionately as Will gave him the cue to walk, then the rotund little pony started making his way carefully around the clearing.

Will's face had settled into an easy smile.

 _I can do this!_

And for a brief moment, all was right with the world.

o0o_o0o_o0o

 **A/N: What do you guys think? Should I end it here? Keep it going? I'll leave it up to you to decide!**

 **As always, thank you for reading!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Okay! You guys have spoken and it's been decided - the story will go on! Thank you to everyone who reviewed or let me know you wanted it to continue. I like writing, I just don't want this story to become redundant, or for you readers to get bored with it.**

o0o_o0o_o0o

It felt strange to be using the low-poundage bow he had first learned with, but the muscle he'd lost while he was incapacitated prevented him from using his regular weapons.

As he drew back the string and loosed another arrow, he pondered on how far he'd come from his first days as an apprentice - and how he was now almost back to square one. With a sigh, he nocked another arrow and kept on with his practice.

 _I'll never get better if I dwell on the past and what can't be changed,_ he reminded himself.

Besides, he was already improving greatly now that he was back on his feet. Well… _foot_.

He glanced down and looked at his prosthetic, studying the complicated piece of hardware with something akin to fondness. After all, it wasn't the peg-leg's fault that his foot was gone, it was just filling in. In a way, he was getting a little attached to it like he had with Tug. It was now a part of him, and helped him with his ranger duties. He was grateful for that.

And it really did help. Halt, Gilan, and Crowley had designed several features into the leg that made it somewhat of a portable toolkit. There was a compartment with lockpicks (rolled up in leather so they didn't make noise when he moved), an extra bow string, a tiny-yet-powerful blowgun that shot darts dipped in a paralytic poison, and a concealed knife. The foot itself could be worn in a boot and it was virtually impossible to tell, aside from his limp, that there was a fake leg hiding beneath.

"Will!"

Halt's voice drifted down through the trees to the clearing he was practicing in. Ever since he'd lost his leg, Halt had been overprotective, checking on him every fifteen minutes or so - and even if he kind of understood it, he was still getting annoyed by it.

He didn't answer immediately, but set his bow down and started his slow walk back to the house. He used a walking stick sometimes when he was alone, and that helped him keep his balance on the uneven ground as he carefully made his way through the familiar trees.

The older ranger was standing on the porch waiting for him when he'd entered into their clearing.

"You've practiced enough for the day, Will, you should rest."

Will rolled his shoulders, relishing the burn in his muscles from the workout they'd gotten.

"I know, but I've been doing nothing for over a month! I can't stand it."

Halt looked a little nonplussed. "Will, you nearly _died_ , you didn't have any other choice but to do nothing while your body healed…It wasn't like you were on holiday."

"I'm healed now, though, and I _need_ to practice!"

"Fine," he relented "but _after_ you come have some lunch. And some coffee."

Will gave a crooked smile to Halt as he made his way to the house, leaning a bit too hard on his walking stick, but not complaining.

Halt waited for his apprentice then followed him inside, pulling out his chair for him at the table then taking his staff over and placing it by the door. He still wasn't used to seeing Will walking with an aid, like he was already some old man…It made him feel guilty to be the one walking normally when he was so much older.

The two men were quiet for a while, each lost in thought while Halt divvied up some of his rabbit stew into a couple of bowls.

"Is Gilan joining us?" Will asked, trying some small talk - he had an awful nagging feeling that Halt wanted to talk about something…

"He's out checking on rumors of a bandit camp nearby, he'll be back this evening."

Will just nodded his head as he took a bite of soup, he was trying to think of something else to talk about before Halt could ask him any uncomfortable questions. Unfortunately, though, he wasn't fast enough…

"How did you do it…that night…how did you get out of the house without me hearing you?"

Will's eyes looked panicked for a split second, then his expression turned into a carefully blank mask. He didn't want to talk about this, but knew he had to anyway. Halt was nothing if not persistent.

"I just…" he looked down at the steam rising from his bowl "I guess I just took it one second at a time, one millimeter at a time. It wasn't easy…"

The man just nodded, then —

"Why…" The simple question had been on Halt's mind since he'd pulled Will from that river. It had also been the one Will prayed Halt would never ask…

Again, Will looked withdrawn and uncomfortable. He _really_ didn't want to discuss this. Halt waited patiently, and then Will sighed. He supposed Halt deserved to know the truth.

"I just felt _hopeless_ …Like I'd never walk again, like I'd never be a ranger. I felt like something broken and useless, and I didn't want to go on any longer being a…a cripple. I guess I thought you'd be better off without me here."

Will hadn't made eye contact with Halt since the questions began, and Halt had noticed.

"…Haven't I told you before that you're an apprentice - that you're not supposed to think?" He groaned in frustration "Will, I would _never_ be better off without you. Surely you know that."

"But I don't! You're Halt, the most capable and efficient ranger in all of Araluen - maybe even of all time! And what am I? I'm a one-legged orphan who can't even manage to kill himself properly…" Will's voice had taken on a horribly bitter tone, one that Halt inwardly despised.

"Will, stop that." He took a deep breath and continued more gently. Being an outwardly caring person was still relatively new to him, and he hoped he wouldn't botch this.

"You have to stop putting me on a pedestal. I'm an ordinary man, not some _ranger-god_. The skills I have came from years of practice and experience - you're still an apprentice! You're farther along now than I was at your age…And as far as your question of _what_ you are, you are _my_ apprentice. And for what it's worth, I'm glad you didn't manage to 'kill yourself properly'…I would be lost without you." He placed his hand on Will's shoulder an squeezed firmly.

The young man was slightly red in the face but his posture had relaxed some. Then he asked his own abrupt question -

"Do you forgive me?"

Halt frowned at his apprentice for a second, pondering his response.

"Yes, Will. I forgive you…but you better _never_ do something like that again, am I understood? You should have spoken to me, should have told me how you felt."

Will just nodded.

He wondered if he could change the subject now…

"…Can we go train some more?"

The ranger studied his apprentice for an uncomfortably long amount of time, then answered. " _After you eat_ we'll do some exercises in silent, unseen movement. Alright?"

Will grinned triumphantly as he shoveled a spoonful of stew into his mouth, "Sounds good."

…

"Today, your main focus will be moving silently. You can try to remain unseen as well, but keep in mind that that is secondary until you get used to moving with the prosthetic. I'll give you a three minute head start. Understood?"

Will smiled nervously and nodded again; of all his ranger's abilities, he was most concerned about his silent movement…He still wasn't quite used to the way the false leg moved and wondered if he'd ever learn to work around it.

But he'd never know if he never tried, so he set off carefully into the woods, resolved to give it his best shot.

He wasn't very far into the woods, however, when he realized one of the biggest drawbacks to his new foot…he had no feeling of what was beneath him.

It had always been such an automatic and normal thing, he had never really thought about _how_ _much_ he relied on his feet to know where he could or couldn't step…But now - he couldn't feel the twigs, the branches, the tree nuts. He had a partial disconnect from the ground that left a wide range for errors.

And just as he started to worry about it, his prosthetic foot landed on a twig that he hadn't seen. It snapped loudly under the weight and Will grimaced as the crack reverberated loudly through the woods. His face reddened in shame, but he had to keep going…

He'd only made it a few more paces when he stepped on another small branch. His posture fell and the doubt started to rise up within him again. The black voice stirred from its slumber.

 _Why are you even trying? You're louder than a boar in rut! Surely every animal in the forest knows where you are - "ranger"…Surely Halt knows. Do you think he's laughing, or pitying you right now?_

Will looked around for Halt, but didn't see him. His vision was growing blurry.

 _Disappointment._

He glared at his leg, but didn't want to give up yet, even though it was hopeless. He'd just have to look extra carefully, examine exactly where he would step and try to ascertain if there was something there that could expose him…

His eyes began scouring the earth, and he started concentrated on his path - the way his fake foot hit the earth. He studied its movements so he could account for them later. And soon, he was several hundred meters away, still moving as quietly as he could.

But just as he started to feel confident, his foot landed on another stick, which cracked like lightning and caused a bird to fly away overhead.

 _Why not just play a trumpet to announce your arrival?_ The voice mocked.

That was far enough…Will sunk to the ground and hugged his knees. He knew Halt knew exactly where he was anyway, so there was no point in trying to be unseen. He would just wait for Halt to come find him to tell him how badly he'd failed…

It didn't take long.

With a rustle of the air lighter than a whisper on the wind, he felt Halt's arrival. He lifted his face to see his master looking down at him sadly.

"I know!" Will burst out, a touch louder than he'd meant to be. Halt winced almost imperceptibly at the sudden loud noise.

"I know I was awful! I know I failed. I know…"

Halt didn't say anything for a while, he just stood there beside his apprentice.

"What made you fail, Will?" His voice was quiet and calm.

Will looked up at him in annoyance, was he trying to rub it in?

"I couldn't feel the earth! I couldn't feel what I was stepping on, I couldn't avoid making noise because I couldn't feel it!"

The old ranger pursed his lips, "You were doing well for a good distance, Will…What was your technique to adjust for the lack of feeling and response from your foot then?"

Will stared down at the dirt "I don't know…just looked more carefully at where I was stepping…watched the way my fake foot moved and tried to work around it…it's harder that way."

Halt nodded seriously, "Harder. But it's not impossible. You just broke your concentration too soon and got careless."

When his apprentice didn't reply, Halt took a few steps away, toward the cabin.

"And Will…? You didn't fail when you made the noise…you failed when you gave up."

Then he disappeared into the trees again, leaving Will alone to think about what he'd said.

…

It took longer than he'd hoped for Will to come out of the woods, but soon enough, he did. And there was a hot cup of coffee waiting for him when he finally limped onto the veranda.

Halt gestured to Will's seat beside him and rocked back in his own chair without saying a word. Will sat down and took his coffee, though he seemed too ashamed to drink it.

"You know that I'm not disappointed in you, right, Will?"

The young man looked at his drink but his eyes somehow grew sadder. "Maybe not. But I'm disappointed in myself."

"Don't be. Practice, Will. You just need to practice. You actually utilized an effective technique. You adapted well and I was impressed by that. But you can't allow yourself to fall into doubt…Will, to be a ranger, you have to be strong. A ranger doesn't give up…"

Will didn't respond at first. He was too tired. Tired of the ups-and-downs of his mood, tired of the aches and pains, tired of the speeches and empty words. He was tired of doubts, and disappointment, and being disheartened. He was tired of trying to adjust and failing anyway. He was just _tired_. He stood up with a grimace and put his coffee down, untouched.

"Then I guess I'm not a ranger."

o0o_o0o_o0o

 **A/N: So some of you want to see Will go on a mission…I think that's a good idea. But you know me, things have to get worse before they get better! And I think dear Will needs to be forced into seeing just how good of a ranger he still can be…How about you? I foresee a conflict coming up - but what should it be? Bandits out for revenge for the death of their murdering leader? Marauders plaguing Redmont fief? Halt and Gilan being captured? *crickets* I guess we'll see soon enough (and yes, your opinions matter, so you CAN vote on what is to come)! Thanks for reading, and see ya next time!**


	16. Chapter 16

o0o_o0o_o0o

Gilan slid silently through the bushes on the outskirts of a small clearing. The patch of forest before him was bustling with raised voices, drunken singing, and crackling campfires.

Bandits.

And just by the looks of them, it appeared to be the main group of marauders associated with the murderer who had cost Will his leg…But he wasn't quite sure yet, so he'd stayed back in the woods, invisible to passing eyes as he waited and observed, biding his time until he figured out what their purpose was, and who - if anyone - they were working for.

Fortunately, it didn't take long before he overheard a couple of men on the edge of the camp talking loudly in drunken voices about their dead comrade.

"— Nah, we's been up near Seacliff lyin' low, where's Ol' Henry? I ain't seen tha Big Boss since we's got 'ere."

"Ain't you heard? 'E got killt by a damn ranger! Crazy bastard strode up on their house and tried to make sport of 'em! Must'a been outta his mind, I tell ya, tryin' somethin' like 'at. The barkeep at the inn was talkin' 'bout it. Reckons they threw 'is body inta a heap o' shit after they'd killed him, too! S'what I was told, anyway."

The other bandit let out a string of expletives, "I'd like ta stick 'em meself, ever I get tha chance. Bloody spies and crooked wizards, tha lot of 'em!"

"Aye, I wish't I knew where them murderers was, but I heard 'e got the ranger's whelp 'fore the little bastard shot him. Don't know if the runt died of it though."

The man waved his hand dismissively "I 'ope 'e's gone! Tha only good kinda ranger, is a _dead_ ranger!"

As the two men broke out into humorless, inebriated laughter, Gilan retreated further into the tree line, he'd heard enough. And even though he was furious, the ranger part of him was calmly mulling over what he'd just learned; These criminals were definitely in league with the murderer he'd been after before all of this started…

Halt would need to be briefed on this before any action was taken, though. And he needed to get out of there before he let his emotions get him into trouble.

In the short span of time he'd observed them, he had counted over a dozen, all armed and dangerous. It would be too difficult and risky to confront them alone, he would have to bring Halt back with him. For even the bravest bandits in the farthest fiefs had heard of the mighty Halt - and few dared to give the legendary ranger a reason to turn them into a pin cushion.

Backup would be absolutely necessary for this takedown. And they'd need to act fast.

With the seeds of a plan growing in his mind, Gilan vanished into the forest. And as soon as he was a safe enough distance away from the bandits, he started riding as fast as he could for Halt's cabin.

o0o_o0o_o0o

"Will, open the door."

Halt was irritated but trying not to show it as he waited outside Will's bedroom. Once the young man had exclaimed that he wasn't a ranger, he'd vanished into his room and had barricaded the door. In a normal situation, that sort of behavior would have earned him a smack to the back of the head from Halt, as well as a long list of chores…but now?

The older man's instincts told him that a gentler approach was necessary. However, _gentle_ had never been his strong suit…

"Open this damn door, Will! If I have to force it open—" He let the threat dangle in the air for Will's imagination to fill in. It worked. A few seconds later, he heard the young man shuffling around in the room before something heavy slid across the wood and the door opened. He noted with some satisfaction that Will must have still had enough fear and respect for him to take him seriously.

He stepped inside the small space to find Will already sitting on his bed.

He couldn't help the exasperated sigh that escaped him. He wasn't sure how much longer he could take this…So far everything he had tried hadn't done much good. Maybe he needed to try something else…something a little more "Old School Halt": Tough love…

"Will, snap out of this! I will not sit by and let you throw away your future and life as a ranger because of your current feelings. You are my apprentice, whether you like it or not, and you're not allowed to just quit."

When Will ignored him, he persisted, though he was growing increasingly more irritated.

"I don't know how to help you, Will. And I _can't_ help you if you won't let me…I'm lost. I've tried to be supportive, I've tried to tell you I believe in you, and what good has it done? Is there anything I can do to make you stop all this self-doubt and moping?"

Will looked away from him.

Halt shook his head and threw up his hands.

"Enough! Go out into the woods, Will. Go out there and practice walking and moving silently." But when Will didn't budge, he added heatedly "That's an order!"

His apprentice glared at him, but rose anyway and limped past him out the door. Halt watched him go with a mixture of emotion on his face, he didn't like yelling at Will - he worried the boy might break - but he had to get him out of this slump _somehow_.

With a deep breath, he turned and headed to the porch where he could keep an ear out for Will's activities and, hopefully, his progress. As he sat down in his chair, Halt stared after his apprentice who had just disappeared into the trees. From this spot, he would be able to hear most of Will's movements and perhaps come up with some pointers for him. And even though it took awhile, he was pleased when the sound of Will's footsteps faded completely, and the woods became mostly silent.

And that was when he heard the clop of hoofbeats drawing near.

Halt shifted his attention from the woods to the road, waiting for Gilan to appear. After all, he knew Blaze's gaits as well as he knew Abelard's and Tug's. And sure enough, a few minutes later, his former apprentice arrived, a serious look plastered on his face as he swung down from his saddle and strode up to the porch.

"I found the bandit camp, Halt. It's a group that's affiliated with the man who shot Will. They're not far from here, and from the way they were talking, it sounds like they'd be happy to kill any ranger they see as revenge for their boss's death…We need to get rid of them before they become a major problem."

Halt frowned as Gilan debriefed him on his findings. He wondered what he'd do with Will while they were out on the mission…Will wasn't ready to go out into the field yet…

"How many?" he asked slowly.

"A dozen at least, could be more."

"What kind of weapons?"

"Knives mostly, from what I saw. There were also some clubs, a few bows. Nothing too serious."

Halt nodded and placed his chin on his fingertips. He still didn't know what to do with Will…

"You are right, we need to root them out as quickly as possible. I'll go find Will and tell him to stay here, then we'll go."

"You're not going to bring him along? It might do him some good…"

But Halt cut him off hurriedly. "He's barely healed, Gilan. He still limps heavily and can't move silently yet…No - he needs to stay here, where he's safe. He isn't ready."

"But what will you tell him? He'll want to come along, and who knows how he'll react if you tell him you don't have faith in his abilities…"

Halt rubbed his eyes and groaned quietly, "We'll just tell him we're going on a reconnaissance mission, a quick run and nothing more."

Gilan looked uncomfortable with the lie, but Will wasn't his apprentice, and he didn't want to be responsible if Will got hurt again.

"Alright…I'll go get my things together. I'll meet you back here once you've talked to Will."

With that, Halt stood up and made his way toward the woods as Gilan began readying the equipment they would need to apprehend a small pack of criminals.

He really wasn't looking forward to this talk.

o0o_o0o_o0o

Will hadn't been out in the woods very long when he'd seen Blaze and Gilan trotting by him. It brought him a small amount of pleasure to realize Gilan hadn't seen him as he hid in the undergrowth. And so he decided to tail them, after all, he wasn't supposed to go far from the house and this was as good of an exercise as anything Halt would have him do…

He cut through the woods, staying out of sight and using a fairly worn dirt path he was well acquainted with until he reached the tree line near the cabin. He stopped just inside the shadows and waited, hoping to surprise and impress both Gilan and Halt.

He could see that Gilan was dismounting and was already making his way to the porch, but he had soon started speaking and his tone was unusually serious. Will's interest was piqued, so he squinted his eyes and turned his head to hear the men's conversation.

Eavesdropping was, after all, also a very important ranger skill…

As he listened, though, he felt every good feeling that had come from his successful practice session shattering around him. Halt was talking about him…and he listened with tears in his eyes as the man told Gilan how he wasn't ready - wasn't good enough - to be trusted on a mission.

 _Everything he said to you before was lies. I told you that he would lead you on, only to let you fall…_

Will had heard enough, and ghosted back up the path he had just come down, he needed to be far enough away for Halt to find it feasible for him not to have overheard anything he wasn't supposed to.

And it didn't take long for his master to track him down. But Will decided to play it cool. He was going to prove them wrong…

"Will, there you are. How goes the training?"

The young man looked up at Halt with a carefully blank expression. "Well enough, I suppose, Halt. Did you want me to do something else?" He tried to keep his tone normal.

"As a matter-of-fact, I do," Halt paused and Will held his breath…Would Halt change his mind and take him with them, or would he prove the dark voice right, and leave his apprentice behind… "I need you to do some cleaning inside the house and make dinner if your leg is up to it - if not, then go and rest. Gilan and I need to go on a short scouting run, but we'll be back soon."

It felt like a stone had dropped into Will's gut, but he did his best to act like he knew nothing.

"…Alright, Halt. I guess I'll see you when you get back…"

Halt nodded at the younger man, perhaps a touch suspiciously…he had expected an argument, but he'd got none. Will just looked sad and a little tired. He felt relief at the lack of confrontation, then he gestured toward the house and waited for Will to start moving.

About five minutes later, the pair walked into the clearing to find Gilan already waiting with a saddled Blaze and Abelard. Tug was still loose in his paddock. The sight almost caused Will's eyes to start watering.

 _Neither of them have faith in me,_ he thought bitterly.

Halt split from Will when they arrived at the cabin, taking Abelard's reins and mounting the pony while Will slowly climbed the stairs of the porch. The two rangers were quiet and Will said nothing, he just looked at them with a disappointed look on his face. Gilan avoided his eyes.

"Stay here, we'll return shortly." Halt said evenly.

Will gave a stiff nod and didn't budge as the men rode off. He just stood on the porch, listening to the fading sound of hoofbeats before he looked over at Tug and headed to grab his saddle.

o0o_o0o_o0o

 **A/N: DunDunDUUUUUN! What could** ** _possibly_** **go wrong? We'll find out next time ;)**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who contributed to the "What Should Happen Next" poll. All of your thoughts were considered, and I** ** _think_** **I managed to incorporate a little of everything into this development. However, if I missed something you'd like to see, drop it in a review or PM and I'll try to work it in!**

 **PS: To the guest reviewer who asked about Berrigan: I'm glad you brought that up! I chose to leave him out of this story/world because I didn't like how his character was sidelined in the books. After he loses his leg, he becomes more of a semi-retired ranger / bard who no longer does as much of the field work that Will enjoys so much…Berrigan is a fun character, but ultimately he doesn't fit in with the main theme here, because the loss of his leg** ** _did_** **basically end his career as a full-time ranger.**

 ***** This chapter is sporting a warning for violence, blood,** **AND** **a violent, bloody death *evil grin* — ENJOY!**

o0o_o0o_o0o

Blaze and Abelard made their way carefully through the woods, their attentive ears flicking backward occasionally in response to the nearly silent tones of their riders as the men spoke softly to one another.

"I think we should use the slings to incapacitate as many as we can initially, since there are only two of us and more than a dozen of them."

Halt nodded to his friend. Though he would never admit it, his mind was clouded - both with guilt, and the desire for revenge…These criminals were accomplices of the man who had nearly killed his boy. He wanted to make them pay.

Gilan, upon seeing Halt's acceptance of his plan, felt concern bubbling in his gut. He worried the older man would let his heart rule over his head on this mission, clouding his judgement…And in their line of work, that kind of error could have deadly repercussions.

…

The two rangers drew their weapons and flanked the bandits from the perimeter of the clearing. Their movements were seamlessly coordinated and silent…If everything went according to plan, Halt and Gilan could each incapacitate at least three bandits before the men were even able to realize what was going on. Then hopefully they would be able to talk the others into surrendering without a fight…

From opposite sides of the camp, Halt and Gilan gave each other a nod.

A second later, smoothed stones were whizzing through the air, knocking unconscious anyone who was unfortunate enough to be in their path - which just so happened to be about six men in total.

Yells of alarm sounded through the clearing, and the remainder of the bandits were now on their feet, scrambling about in confusion with weapons drawn.

Now it was time to act. Halt and Gilan drew their bows as one and stepping into the clearing.

"King's Rangers! Stand where you are or we'll shoot!" Gilan barked in an unusually commanding tone.

The bandits, for the most part, looked a little stunned and a lot frightened. The eyes of the still-conscious men all shifted instinctively from the rangers toward one person - their leader - it was clear they were waiting to see what he'd do. What he'd have _them_ do.

In the first moment he saw him, Halt noted that the man had a cruel glint in his eye, even as he smiled at the two new comers.

"Well, well…If it isn't a pair of sneaking little stinkers!" The man mocked loudly, drawing nervous laughter from his gang. It seemed at least _some_ of them knew what rangers were capable of - and therefore feared the men standing before them.

But the Boss wasn't paying attention to his crew, he was staring at Halt. The nasty smile widened, then he covered his eyes with his hand and theatrically scanned the surrounding woods. "Where's the Runt Ranger of Redmont? I don't see him…Such a pity, I was hoping I'd get to meet him…"

The grizzled ranger went rigid, scowling angrily within his cowl before responding. "How do you know he isn't right there?" Halt gestured to Gilan, whose face was also concealed.

The bandit chief laughed mirthlessly. "No. That isn't the boy I'm talking about. This one here doesn't walk with a limp, and I heard Henry shot your little bastard in the leg…I wonder, did he die? Is that why he's not here? Or is the little shit just a cripple now?"

Gilan's heart was pounding painfully hard, causing his bow arm to waver with each beat. He knew Halt was not a man that handled goading very well in the first place, but with this particular subject… _Please don't take the bait, Halt, please don't take the bait…_

But Halt couldn't hear Gilan's silent pleas, and in the blink of an eye, his bow was raised and an arrow was pointed at the boss's head.

Halt's eyes were burning into the man in front of him as he was overtaken by an all-consuming rage and hatred. In that moment, everything was driven from his mind, except the desire to end this miserable man's life…

Which was why he failed to notice the men who were sneaking up behind him.

And Gilan, doing his best to get his friend to come back to his senses, also failed to see the threat until it was too late. His plan had worked too easily, and now the rangers were his.

The boss smirked triumphantly - and before either ranger could react, they were both struck over the head from behind, and once they had fallen to their knees, they were pounced upon by several burly men and pinned to the ground.

Halt let out a primal scream of anger as his vision darkened. He was on his stomach now and could see an unconscious Gilan beside him. He watched as the bandits tied the younger man's hands, even as he felt his own hands being bound and his weapons being confiscated.

 _I was a fool…_

o0o_o0o_o0o

Tug was an impressively quiet animal, a fact that never ceased to amaze Will.

The pair had managed to track and follow Halt and Gilan's path with relative ease until, at last, Will spotted Blaze and Abelard up ahead, both horses concealed behind dense bushes. It was no surprise that Halt and Gilan were nowhere to be seen, he would have to go in on foot from here.

Will swallowed and dismounted, then he set his eyes to scanning his surroundings, both near and far. That's when he noticed the faint glow of campfires lighting up the trees in the distance. That was his destination.

His eyes dropped down, studying the ground covering. This was not a drill, he could not fail. He would have to give it everything he had, but he would prove to Halt that he could do it…

Before he set out, he patted his pony's soft nose and gave him a simple command. "Stay, Tug. Come only if one of us calls you." The little horse let out a puff of air, almost as if to say _'I don't need to be told how to do my job!'_ , but otherwise he remained quiet. Will gave him a smile and then ghosted into the trees.

His leg was quite painful from the use it had been getting recently, and he mentally noted that today was the farthest he'd walked on his own since he lost his leg. He could practically hear Halt's voice scolding him at the thought, _You need to focus on the task at hand, rather than marking personal milestones! Pay attention!_

And it was a good thing that the Halt in his head was there, because he had been about to step on a dry stick. Will mentally chided himself then doubled down on his efforts.

With every step that took him closer to his destination, his senses heightened. His eyes ceaselessly scanned the forest floor for potentially noisy debris, his ears listened for any sign of confrontation or nearby movement. All seemed quiet…Perhaps even _too_ quiet.

His eyes narrowed as he drew slowly nearer to the encampment. He could hear quiet voices, but not the ruckus he'd been expecting. And he didn't hear or see Halt or Gilan, which was also odd. They weren't ones to waste any time when it came to dealing with goons like these…Something wasn't right.

As quietly as he could, Will slunk around the clearing, using the shadows to camouflage himself as he searched for his friends. And his heart sank when he saw them.

Halt and Gilan were tied up, and Will observed that both men's eyes looked uncharacteristically heavy-lidded…like they were drugged or perhaps concussed. A moment later, Gilan let his head droop, Will saw a bit of red on his neck…

Suddenly, what had started out as a simple mission to prove himself worthy to Halt, had turned into a critical rescue mission.

All self-doubt was erased from his mind, he even forgot that he didn't have two feet. His friends were in need, and he would save them. But first, he needed to get close to the bandits; listen for information, see how many of them there were…It was imperative that he remain silent…

 _Take it slow…one millimeter at a time…_ Will chanted to himself inside his head. _Easy does it, easy, easy…_

His feet made no sound as they padded delicately closer, and closer. He could hear their voices now…He could see the men. Seven of them.

…But there were six men lying unconscious on the ground. Some had small bleeding wounds on their heads, but they'd all been left where they fell…It didn't seem like these bandits were too bothered with their injured _friends_.

However, it was the ones who were still conscious that he needed to focus on. He needed to even up the odds…As slowly and as silently as he could, Will pulled out his bow and nocked an arrow - but just as he was about to draw, he heard something that made his muscles freeze.

"I still say we should jus' kill 'em!" someone whispered urgently.

"No! Damn you! I said we keep them alive for now. Death is too good for them…We'll have a bit of fun first."

The others nodded, some enthusiastically, some reluctantly. Will thought that maybe the reluctant ones knew that rangers rarely stayed captured for long, and that they knew what would happen _when_ they got loose…

Will turned slightly and looked at Halt and Gilan, then turned back to the bandits. There was no telling where their weapons had gone, and they would be helpless to aid him if he messed this up…But he'd sooner die than let these foul criminals harm his friends without a fight. With a deep breath, he drew back and aimed…and though he didn't want to kill them, he knew now that these men intended to kill Halt and Gilan - deadly force was now a necessity.

 _TWANG —THWACK!_ The first shot he fired hit one of the bandits squarely in the chest, causing the man to topple off the stump he was sitting on before he landed, limp, on the ground.

 _TWANG — THWACK!_ His second arrow planted itself deeply into another man's chest, a bit higher than he'd meant, but it was still a kill shot.

He needed to stand up to make the third shot, the bandits were scrambling around now. He drew his string back again, aimed it at the man he assumed was the leader, and fired.

Unfortunately, right at that moment, one of the bandits tackled him from behind. His bow was thrown out of his grasp as his shot went wide. He had missed. And now he was being pulled to his feet by the same man who had taken him down. The burly figure roughly guided him into the clearing, now filled with dead _and_ unconscious bandits.

This was not going exactly like he had hoped…

He struggled to get away from the man, but his leg was really starting to bother him, he didn't know how much more fight he had in him. His captors marched him forward and stopped in front of the man Will had pegged as the leader a minute before.

"What do we have here?" The man growled as he approached Will, at this point another bandit had come forward to grasp his other arm, making sure he couldn't get away. The boss circled him like a vulture, studying him.

"Hmm…You walk with a limp, boy…Why's that, I wonder…"

Then there was movement on the far edge of the clearing that caught Will's eye. He turned his attention from the bandit boss and saw his friends looking at him. Halt and Gilan were both alert and staring at him in wide-eyed fear, he could see the men struggling to break their bonds…But even though he was there to save them, he couldn't help but feel a sense of hurt and betrayal that they'd lied to him about this mission.

A sudden backhanded slap caught him on the cheek and snapped his head around. "Don't look away from me when I'm speaking to you, cur! Answer me!"

Will straightened quickly and decided to ignore his friends for the moment, instead, he looked back to the boss with steely-eyed determination. And when he spoke, his tone conveyed a bravery that only comes from a deep-seated ambivalence about one's own safety and survival.

"I was shot in the leg by a _coward_ …right before I planted my arrow into his chest…Just like I did to them." He jerked his head toward the two men whose bodies now laid in the dirt a few dozen paces away.

The boss's gaze traveled to his deceased colleagues and lingered on them for a moment, before he looked at Will again. There was a threatening smile on his face as he drew closer to the boy…

And though Will couldn't see it, Halt and Gilan were watching the exchange with growing terror etched on their faces. They knew that Will's goading was going to end badly very soon. Silently, the two men struggled even harder to free themselves, their wrists now raw and painful, but they _had_ to help Will before it was too late…

The clearing was quiet then as everyone waited for something to happen. When the boss spoke next, his voice was low, and there was a sinisterly sadistic tone simmering just beneath the surface.

"Interesting story…" He paused to rub his chin as if he were thinking about something. His eyes shifted from Will to his other two prisoners and then back to the boy again. "You were shot in the leg, you say..?"

Will swallowed thickly, he refused to break eye contact, but he still didn't respond. He realized that he had just put a target on himself - and more specifically, his recently healed leg.

And then several things happened all at once; Will saw the bandit leader nod, he heard Halt scream his name, he felt an excruciating bolt of agony racing up his bad leg, spreading like wildfire through his nerves and making his vision go white. Then he fell.

Halt and Gilan were yelling frantically in the distance as his legs went out from under him and the bandits who had been holding him let go. In that moment, he was reduced to a helpless heap on the ground. And helpless was just the way these bandits liked their prey…

Boots and clubs were now raining blows down on him from all sides. Though, they seemed to be concentrated mainly on the leg he'd been favoring when he'd limped into the clearing.

Will's world quickly dissolved into a sea of pain. He was living in a place where nothing makes sense and every breath is agony. A place where your mind thinks of nothing but the need to escape…A place where you realize that there _is_ no relief for the nightmare you're living.

He cried out as the blows continued, screaming as the pain mounting exponentially with every hit. And it seemed even his own mind wanted to join in on the fun of beating him down when he heard a familiar voice, _This was all for nothing._ _You failed them._

Will opened his eyes through the pain, seeking out his mentor.

He hoped that Halt knew that he'd only wanted to help. He had really hoped he could do it…But now, he just hoped Halt would forgive him for getting into another mess. And then, like a break in the clouds of a storm that lets a ray of sunshine through, their gazes met.

Will looked into his teacher's eyes, searching them. Fearing that he'd see exasperation, or anger, or disappointment… but what he saw was the look of someone who just wanted to protect. A friend, a father.

He understood now that Halt hadn't meant to hurt him by leaving him - he'd just been trying to protect him from _this._

The two men held their eye contact until the heavy end of a club descended and slammed into the side of Will's head. And at last, his mind was taken away from that world of torment and pain.

…

The ranger's insides twisted in horror. The sickening sounds of forceful blows to a human body reverberated around the clearing, and with every passing second, Gilan and Halt's fear grew. For over a minute, the two men were subjected to one of the most terrible scenes they would ever see - but the end of the torture came swiftly in the form of a club swinging down at Will's head…

"WILL! _NO!_ WILL!"

The blunted object smashed into Will's skull, and like a candle being blown out in the breeze, Will's own light was snuffed out, and his body went sickeningly limp.

After that, everything went quiet.

The bandits, having seen that the young ranger was defeated, finally ceased the attack. After all, it was no fun hitting someone who couldn't give a reaction. Instead, the men stood still around Will for a few moments more, panting heavily from the exertion as they admired their handiwork.

A short distance away, Halt and Gilan had stopped struggling and were holding their breath. All they could do was look on with unblinking eyes and pray that Will wasn't fatally injured…

The first person to move was the leader of the gang, who kicked at Will's leg to see if he was really unconscious.

Halt's eyes narrowed to slits as he watched the man.

"Don't touch him!" He roared in a voice so powerful, it caused the bandits standing around Will to involuntarily back away from the boy. Though, the bandit leader was less impressed.

After scowling at Halt, he bent down and grabbed Will's arm, dragging the small body through the dirt and over to the bound prisoners. There was a smirk of satisfaction on his face when he saw the effect that his actions had on his other two captives. And when he was finally about six feet away, he tossed Will at their feet.

The way his body landed in a heap was unnatural…And Halt no longer cared about the bandit leader - he only cared about Will. His eyes locked onto his apprentice's face, searching for life, for any sign that would tell him Will would be okay…Amongst the multitude of bruises and cuts, blood oozed out of Will's nose and mouth, but Halt couldn't see if he was still breathing…

"Well? How does he look, fellas?" The man sneered at them, but neither Gilan or Halt could speak. They were still too horrified by what they'd just witnessed - what they were _still_ witnessing…

"This is what happens when you mess with one of us. You'll get yours later, once we've decided what to do with you. For now, you can just relax and enjoy the view." The man cackled as he turned and walked away, back to the fire where the remaining bandits were gathered.

He would make them pay for this when he got loose…

But for now, there was nothing they could do but stare at the body of their bloodied and beaten friend, helpless to do anything for him. It was its own special brand of torture.

"Will?" Halt's voice was gentle and quiet when he finally tried to speak, he was trying so hard not to convey any of the terror he felt in his heart in his tone.

Will didn't respond.

Gilan twisted as far as he could so he could see Halt's face. "Is he…?"

But before Halt could answer, Will moved.

At first, it wasn't much more than a twitch of his fingers, but soon his body was slowly shifting. Will's pain-muddled mind was grateful that neither of his companions tried to speak to him in that moment, as he had only a little strength left, and he still had one very important thing he had to do…

With his right hand - the one that hurt less - he reached down and pulled his pant leg up, revealing his prosthetic. His bloody fingers fumbled a little with the clasps on the leg, but after an agonizing minute, he was able to pull the knife and blowgun from their hiding places. Then he began to push them weakly across the dirt to Halt.

The ranger watched, his heart in his throat, until at last Will got the knife close enough. In a few seconds, he managed to hook it with his boot, and a minute later, he'd managed to finagle the weapon into his hands.

Will watched Halt's movements with half-lidded eyes, and as soon as he knew his friend was holding the knife, his eyes slid closed. It was up to them now.

Halt cut through the ropes around his wrists in a matter of seconds, then he sliced the ropes around his ankles. Gilan was acutely aware of the new development, and he waited patiently for Halt to free him as well. And once his bonds were cut, Halt handed him the blowgun Will had produced.

Gilan held the small weapon, frowning down at it before finally looking into Halt's eyes. "For Will," he muttered.

Halt nodded once. "For Will."

Then both men turned their attentions to the bandits, knowing that the best way they could care for Will would be to eliminate the threat first. They would just have to make this quick.

So the two rangers began prowling toward their prey, driven by purpose and a burning desire for justice. And even though they were armed only with a knife and a blowgun, they were now the two most dangerous men in all of Araluen…This small group of criminals didn't know it yet, but just like a poacher trying to harm a bear cub in the presence of its mother, they had made a deadly mistake.

Now in position, Gilan looked toward his former mentor who knelt beside him and waited for the cue to attack. Halt was holding Will's knife in his hand and staring at the bandit leader. Even from this distance, Gilan could see the pulsing of the veins in Halt's neck. He was about to go berserk…

"Don't shoot the boss," Halt growled "he's mine…" And then he pounced.

With the speed and agility of a much younger man, Halt barreled up to the leader and slammed into the man, taking them both to the ground in a cloud of dust.

Gilan stood up then and began firing the poisonous darts into the last three remaining henchman, emptying his supply in a matter of seconds. Thankfully, the effects were instantaneous, and every man who was shot fell to the ground, unconscious, before they even knew what hit them. Gilan spared a second to look down at the small weapon in his hand, impressed by its take-down power. Then his attention was back on Halt's fight.

Both men were still on the ground, but Halt had the clear upper hand. The bandit boss was yelling in anger and surprise, and he cried out in pain as Halt's right hook connected solidly with his nose, causing a river of blood to gush down his face.

"Boys! Help me!" The man called desperately, squirming against the strong grip of his opponent, but no one answered. No one except Halt.

"There is no help for you now." A backhanded slap crashed into his face, and the bandit felt his broken nose shift. But what was even worse than that was the realization that he was on his own with two terrorized and furious rangers…

His previous sneering demeanor was gone as he rolled away and kicked Halt hard in the stomach before scurrying to his feet. Gilan could see the man's eyes go wild as he turned and faced the two rangers - his death.

He looked like a cornered rat…

Gilan knew what that look meant…

"Halt! He's got a knife!" The taller ranger yelled to his partner as he raced forward, trying to disarm the other man. Halt was still struggling to find his feet, he needed time…Gilan reached the bandit first and made a grab for the knife, but he danced backward when he felt something sharp slice into his shoulder.

He was momentarily distracted by the pain, looking at the wound in surprise - and then he was on the ground with the angry bandit chief punching and hacking at him with the dagger. However, the attack lasted only a few seconds before someone pulled the weight off of him. Still slightly dazed, Gilan rolled onto his side, his hands scrabbling to check the many small and deep cuts that now marred his skin. But…where had the bandit chief gone?

Pushing himself up onto his elbows, his attention shifted from his wounds to the men near him, seeking out the person he knew had saved him…knowing that if anyone could finish this fight, it was Halt.

…

Halt had still been on the ground when he'd seen the knife-wielding madman attack Gilan. And in that moment, he'd forgotten his own pain, and was galvanized into action. He would not let this man hurt his family any more…

With adrenaline coursing through him, Halt stood up and rushed forward, plucking the other man off of Gilan as if he weighed nothing. The bandit, who had not been expecting it, cried out as he squirmed and flailed - his knife swinging wildly at his attacker. But Halt was undaunted, he was too focused on the task at hand, and a second later, he slammed the bandit headfirst into the ground.

…He had been so focused, in fact, that he hadn't even felt the blade as it sliced against his abdomen…

The clearing went mostly silent after that, save for the pained gasps of the bandit chief.

Halt stood tall over his defeated opponent, his chest heaving as he stared down at the man in disdain. Then he knelt down and took the man's wrist in a bone-shattering grip, yanking the bloodied knife away before throwing it aside - as if it were nothing more than a toy.

And finally, Halt took Will's knife in his right hand as his left traveled to the man's throat.

"Look at me, _cur_." The ranger's tone was smooth and calm now, and for some reason, that caused the bandit's terror to grow. He didn't want to look at the other man, but couldn't avoid it when the old ranger leaned down over his face, staring into his very soul.

"…You never should have touched them…"

Without breaking eye contact, Halt leaned back and brought his right arm up, then plunged it down. The knife he'd been holding, Will's knife, now protruded from the man's ocular cavity and his body jerked violently before finally going limp.

The clearing was utterly silent as Halt stared down at the dead man and then pushed himself upright. It was over. But Will and Gilan were hurt, and he needed to take care of them.

"Gilan - are you alright?" He called weakly, for some reason he suddenly felt shaky and faint…

"Just some cuts, nothing deadly…" The younger man replied as he lifted up his shit to inspect his injuries.

Halt nodded and continued stumbling on his way back to where Will lay unconscious in the dirt, barely making it before his knees gave out. Gilan was beside him a second later.

"Halt!"

The older ranger looked at his bloodied former apprentice with a questioning look on his face.

"Halt! You're hurt, you need to stay still!"

Hurt? The man looked at his former apprentice with an almost puzzled expression. Gilan saw the look of incomprehension and pointed to the man's abdomen, where a large red patch was still blossoming.

"…Oh…" Halt muttered as he stared at his own wound, then he looked back at Will's body on the ground. "I'm so sorry, Will…" he mumbled, then suddenly he felt very dizzy…Arms wrapped around him before he could tip over, and they guided him to the ground beside his apprentice.

As the tendrils of darkness crept in from the corners of his vision, Halt used his last bit of strength to reach out and grasp Will's hand. Then he relaxed, and followed the boy into oblivion.

o0o_o0o_o0o

 **A/N: Yeaaaahhh…So that was** ** _kinda_** **violent, but I hope you liked it anyway! For those of you who** ** _didn't_** **like it, don't worry…I promise there won't be any more chapters like THIS one.**

 **It was a turd to write, so let me know what you thought of it!**

 **Till next time! 3**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Hello again, reader! Sorry for the wait, I've been super busy and haven't had the chance to sit down and work on this. However, I PROMISE this fic will be completed! I know how frustrating it is to become invested in a story and then the author just** ** _quits_** **on it and leaves you hanging…I WON'T DO THAT (well, unless I die unexpectedly or something, then this story is basically screwed), now that that's cleared up, I'll let you read on. I hope you enjoy!**

 **PS: We just broke 50,000 words! And I know that's not a HUGE story compared to others, but it's the longest story I've ever written! Woohoo! Thank you all for being a part of that and giving me the push to get that far!**

o0o_o0o_o0o

Gilan knew that being a ranger came with many ups and downs, but as far as he was concerned, the necessity to put your duties above yourself and your loved ones was _by far_ the worst thing about his career.

He would have liked nothing more than to forget his duties, abandon them and put all of his remaining energy into caring for his friends, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He could imagine Halt's stern voice lecturing him, _'Like it or not, responsibilities cannot be shirked. Nothing is more important than the safety of Araluen. Always remember what your oakleaf stands for…'_

Even so, oaths and honor didn't make the fact that he would have to leave his wounded friend's sides, if only for a few minutes, any easier. But as the only ranger in the vicinity who was still conscious, he had to secure the now-decimated bandit camp before he did anything else. After all, the ones still breathing were dangerous criminals and he couldn't risk their escape. So after he made sure that Will and Halt's conditions weren't deteriorating, he set to work.

His hands had moved swiftly to tie each of the unconscious criminals to the surrounding trees, most of them were still knocked out cold, or had fallen unconscious from blood loss. As he finished up, he made the decision to leave the bandit's boss lying in the clearing before them (after he'd removed the knife from his skull)…Perhaps the image of their dead leader would burn itself into their memories if they woke up.

With that task completed, Gilan spared a troubled look back at Halt and Will. Leaving them was the last thing he wanted to do, but he had little choice. He couldn't get two unconscious men back to the castle on his own - especially not wounded as he was - he needed to fetch help…

As he made his way back toward Halt and Will, he whistled sharply three times, and it didn't take long before he was joined by a trio of ranger horses.

Both of the greys nickered nervously and went to their riders, while the bay trotted to his side.

"Tug, Abelard - watch over them." He muttered, his strength now waning fast.

Blaze was standing beside him, neck arched as she snorted in alarm at the smell of blood - but more specifically - _her_ human's blood. Her rider was hurt, too. The mare pawed at the ground, she wanted to get her friend out of this dreadful place…

"I'll be back soon." He promised as he climbed into his saddle with a grimace of pain. This was going to be an unpleasant ride…

The other two horses stood faithfully over their riders, watching as Gilan turned Blaze and galloped away.

He would ride to the castle and fetch some men who could help him retrieve his friends, and hopefully he could recruit some knights as well to take the prisoners in.

He just needed to be quick.

o0o_o0o_o0o

Halt came-to an indeterminate amount of time later, though he considered that it couldn't have been _too_ terribly long, on account of the fact that he could still see the forest canopy above him. As his eyes watched the trees moving slowly overhead, his muddled brain arrived at the conclusion that he was being carried on a litter of sorts…He supposed the bandit boss must have landed a decent hit, though he couldn't feel much at that moment, just worry about something…

"Will!" The name tumbled out of his mouth when his brain started remembering how and why he'd been injured.

A few seconds later, someone leaned over him, peering down on his supine form. It was a man's face, handsome and youthful, though drawn with worry.

"Stay still, Halt. Will is up ahead, we're taking you both to the healers." Gilan said in his best soothing voice.

The older ranger groaned in pain, grimacing as his injuries chose that moment to start announcing themselves one by one. All this movement was definitely not helping things, and he winced when he felt a sharp stinging sensation come to life somewhere around his middle. It hurt, but for some reason, he wasn't concerned with it or his own health - he was too busy wondering about Will. Gilan's comment had been pointedly vague, but at least they were on their way to get help and bandits were taken care of.

It was all a bit too much to think about, though, so he closed his eyes in the hopes that no one would try to talk to him. He'd rather try to unpack everything that had happened since he and Gilan had set out to apprehend the bandits earlier that day.

Will had followed them. Obviously. He had even _saved_ them by doing so. The sensation was strange, but Halt felt intensely angry at his apprentice - as well as incredibly proud…The boy never should have come, he would be fine right now if he had done as he was told. _But Gilan and I would likely be dead if he hadn't,_ he reminded himself.

His insides twisted wretchedly when he realized Will must have heard what he'd said to Gilan - he must have, since he had known where they were going and why. It explained why he hadn't pressed Halt to take him with them…Somehow, he must have managed to eavesdrop on them while Halt had thought he'd been deeper into the woods, practicing. And because Halt hadn't believed Will could effectively spy on him, he hadn't taken any measures to prevent it.

He felt like crying. This was now the second time since Will lost his leg that he had successfully managed to out-maneuver his master. It was a fact that shocked Halt, and he felt ashamed of himself that he felt surprise at all. Will deserved to be believed in, but he had doubted him…even going so far as to _lie_ to him because his doubts had been so strong.

It seemed to Halt now that Will had sought to prove himself, to show that he could still be a ranger - and he had succeeded…but at what price?

o0o_o0o_o0o

Thomas had just finished bandaging up a battleschool apprentice who had caught a sword across the arm when the door to the infirmary was thrown open and a large group of knights came trotting noisily inside. And while it was hardly an unusual occurrence, the sound of someone being rushed in never ceased to cause him anxiety.

It was the healer's plight, he supposed. He didn't want to see anyone hurt, but his world revolved around the inescapable fact that illness and injury and death come to all. It was a heavy burden, but the fulfillment he felt when he saved a life brought balance to the inherent pain that came with his craft.

He just hoped that he would be able to heal whoever was being brought in.

As he hastily tied off the bandage and lifted his gaze to the newcomers, the first thing he noticed was the front four men were carrying Halt in on a litter - the ranger appeared to have a bleeding gash on his abdomen and his eyes were closed. The other ranger, Gilan, was walking on his own beside his friend, but he, too, was covered in blood.

His eyes were round in concern when he jumped up from his seat - and that's when he saw the unconscious boy with a familiar messy mop of brown hair being carried in by another set of knights.

 _Dear Lord, what have they gotten themselves into this time?_

His battleschool patient was quickly forgotten as he rushed forward and gestured to a pair of beds where the rangers could be lain.

"My God, Gilan!" The man exclaimed as he got a closer look at all three of them. He didn't know where to begin…

"Bandits." The young man spit the word out like rancid meat, then he turned his attention to the knights, giving them a short command. "You know what to do…" The group of somber men nodded and hurried from the room - now that the rangers were in good hands, they had a posse of criminals to deal with. After that, Gilan plopped down tiredly into a chair by Halt's bed.

Thomas, for his part, wasted no time calling for his apprentice and assistants. All three of the men before him needed care, and it seemed none of them could wait. But as usual, Will had caught his eye and seemed to be in the worst condition. He walked over to the boy and pulled Will's eyelids back and was concerned to find the pupils were different sizes. His hands started to feel gently around the young man's head until he found the culprit: A large lump on the temple from a forceful blow. He winced sympathetically down at Will.

"Gilan, go and lie down. I'll have someone over shortly to clean and stitch those cuts…Agnes, bring a curtain, please."

While he waited for that, he turned his attention briefly to Halt, pulling up the man's tunic to look at the gash concealed underneath. Fortunately, the wound wasn't deep enough to have damaged any organs, but it was still deep and had bled a lot. As he examined it, Thomas estimated that it would need a couple dozen stitches at least, and would likely leave an impressive scar.

He was assigning his assistants with their tasks when the young woman, Agnes, bustled forward toward Will's bed with the partition rolling in front of her. And with that, the senior healer turned his attention back to the ranger's apprentice, relinquishing Halt and Gilan's care over to his associates. Then he began helping the girl set up the divider around the youngest man - since Will was still unconscious and his body covered in injuries, they would have to strip him down to view the full extent of the damage and treat him.

It was an unfortunate thing, but the divider at least provided the patient with some semblance of dignity.

With the privacy curtain now completely surrounding Will's bed, Thomas began removing the boy's clothes. It was a painfully slow process, as there was blood seeping through in many places and the physician didn't want to rip open any wounds if the blood had clotted to the cloth - additionally, there was no telling if any bones were broken yet, though he hoped not.

As each ruined garment came away and was tossed haphazardly onto the floor, the severity of Will's beating became more and more apparent.

The healer's blood boiled as he noted the marks of blunt force trauma covering nearly every square inch of Will's skin. He could tell from a glance that more than once person had been involved, and the thought enraged him. How could multiple men beat a one-legged teenager?

 _Cowards. Despicable cowards…_

But those thoughts would have to wait, as Will now needed to be cleaned up and bandaged.

Thomas and Agnes, the latter of whom being entirely unphased by the potentially embarrassing task, began working together to wipe Will down and cleanse any of his bleeding wounds. It was a job that went much smoother with two people. Although, the finished product did little to improve Will's overall appearance…

His body was covered in bruises and blood slowly oozed out of some of the deeper cuts. It was clear that whoever had gotten ahold of him had paid special attention to his bad leg, as it sported the highest concentration of injuries. And with his chest bare, Will's shallow breaths were also easier to see, their sporadic pacing causing the boy to occasionally gasp for air. The only silver lining was that Will wouldn't be requiring the amount of stitching that Halt and Gilan would be getting.

"Agnes, fetch the bandages, please…" Thomas leaned back to rest for a moment as his helper darted off. He sometimes wished he still had that youthful energy, but these days, he just felt drained. Especially dealing with the rangers. His sad eyes drifted over Will's form again, mentally recording the things he still needed to treat…

One of Will's hands would definitely require wrapping - it looked as though a boot had taken off all the skin around his knuckles. His chest looked bad as well, with bruises and cuts scattered everywhere, but thankfully no ribs were broken. The truncated leg was bruised and swollen, sporting a couple deep cuts that still needed stitching, the knee was skinned as well. His good leg hadn't made it out without its own share of damage, either, and it seemed to have caught some of the blows. It looked much the same as his other leg, only his remaining ankle was missing a large chunk of skin and the joint was turning purple and swollen. Amazingly, he looked like he hadn't broken any bones - aside from perhaps his nose. There was some swelling and darkening around his eyes, but thankfully the nose didn't appear to be shattered or crooked, and would therefore would not require straightening.

When Agnes finally came back with everything they'd need, Thomas took a deep breath and set to work again, praying all the while that Will would wake soon - and that he'd have no lasting damage from his latest trauma.

…

Halt groaned softly as he finally awoke, feeling groggy from both pain and stress. He could remember most of what happened; He and Gilan had taken on a group of bandits, Will had shown up, and they had all sustained injuries. But how had they gotten _here?_

Looking up, there was no longer a canopy of trees, instead, the sky above had been replaced by a high, stone ceiling. All least they had made it back to the castle.

"How do you feel?" Came a familiar voice…Gilan must have been somewhere to his right.

"Fine," he lied, turning his head to find his former apprentice lying in a bed beside him. "Where's Will? Is he alright? Are you alright?"

"He's alive, he's in the bed beside you. But he hasn't regained consciousness yet. As for me, I'm fine, just a few cuts and bruises. You and Will are the ones we're worried about…"

Halt rotated his lead to the left so he could see his apprentice - so he could see for himself that Will was still alive - but found, much to his dismay, that his view was blocked by a tall curtain divider. He wanted to move it.

Ignoring the pain in his abdomen, he made to get out of his bed, but was stopped by the reprimanding voice of Thomas, who materialized at his side a moment later, pushing him down.

The man scowled when Halt stifled a gasp as the movement pulled on his fresh stitches.

"No! Bad ranger! Stay in your bed, I say!" Thomas fussed, looking quite frazzled. Judging from his expression, it seemed that the man wanted to pull his hair out.

"Blast you! Haven't you the sense to stay in bed when your stomach is gashed open?!" And then his gaze hardened further, "And speaking of that, _what_ were you doing that so nearly cost _all of you_ your lives?!" The physician gesticulated wildly as he scolded the other man, "I don't know how much more of this I can stand, Halt, but please, tell me now if I'm wasting my time - if you and your apprentice are hellbent on finding an early grave! I daresay, I don't like wasting my time!"

Gilan listened to the tirade with round eyes and pursed lips. He hadn't ever really heard anyone lose it on Halt like that before. And what was more shocking, Halt looked relatively apologetic.

"I'm sorry, Thomas. I swear to you, none of this was intentional…I appreciate you helping us. Again."

The healer cooled off swiftly as Halt spoke to him. Then he heaved a sigh and plopped onto the foot of Halt's bed, looking worn and sad.

"I know that, Halt, I know. I didn't really mean any of that, it's just that I'm so frustrated! Over these past weeks, I've grown to care for all of you as friends…Your craft is dangerous," he took a deep breath and his brow turned stormy once more, "but Will is not ready to go out in the field…Why would you take him?"

Halt was frowning deeply as well now. Thomas seemed to believe Will wasn't ready to be a ranger yet - just as he had several hours ago when he'd left Will behind…but now? Halt didn't think that was right. _Will_ had been the one who had saved them. Had it not been for Will, who knows what could have happened…It dawned on him then that perhaps _he_ had been the least prepared for the mission.

"I didn't take him on the mission…He followed Gilan and myself, we had no idea he was with us. When the mission went ill, he…he saved us."

If Thomas didn't understand, he hid it well and refrained from asking any questions. He just gave a small nod.

And then all three of the men looked over toward the curtain that concealed Will, each hoping against hope that he'd be okay.

"I want to see him…" Halt's voice was quiet and there was a hint of hesitation in his tone.

Thomas looked at the ranger, appraising him quietly before he finally rose and strode over to the divider. It wasn't particularly large or heavy, and so it swung aside easily.

Halt watched intently, every bit as worried as any parent would be over their child. And though this kind of horrible scenario had occurred frequently as of late, it wasn't something he would ever get used to.

Will looked terrible. His young face was relaxed in unconsciousness, but it was shaded with many colors and there was some swelling starting to occur. The rest of him bore more of a resemblance to a mummy than a young man. Both of his legs were propped up on pillows and his one hand rested on several cushions as well…

"How is he?" Halt paused and wondered if Thomas would try to water-down the prognosis in order to spare him the pain of reality, so he added with a touch of determination, "Tell me truthfully."

The healer sighed again before speaking. "All things considered, it could have been worse. He managed to avoid any major broken bones. I felt around his chest, abdomen, and back, but I didn't find any signs of life-threatening trauma there. He'll be sore beyond belief, naturally, but I didn't see any signs of internal ruptures. As far as the injuries he sustained, he's got a plethora of bruises and scrapes, and a sprained wrist and ankle, but they'll all heal nicely with a little care…" The man paused then, like he didn't know how to phrase the next part. "My main concern is his head…"

Both rangers closed their eyes at the mention of that injury. They looked like they were remembering something horrible.

"He _should_ wake, but as with any head trauma - especially trauma that severe - there's no telling what the lasting effects may be."

Halt simply nodded. It had been a fierce blow, but there wasn't much any of them could do about it at this point. He closed his eyes then, suddenly overtaken by weariness. Since he had woken, the pain in his middle seemed to be growing more pronounced. With a grunt, he opened his eyes and glared down at his stomach. Thomas followed his gaze.

"Ah, yes. You have your own battle wounds to worry about," he leaned over and removed Halt's blanket, then peeled up the square of cloth that they'd draped over the cut to soak up the blood, allowing Halt to get a look at the injury.

"Thirty-two stitches, in case you care to know! You wore out my apprentice's hands…but then again, he needed the practice."

Halt leveled a blank, if not slightly annoyed, look at the man beside him. "Glad I could be his practice dummy." He grumbled. He didn't want to see the wound anymore.

Thomas, who seemed to be impervious to Halt's intimidation techniques, just chuckled and shook his head before rising from his chair.

"Well now, I think he did a fine job!" The man smiled down at Halt as he re-covered his wound. "We have much to be proud of…I wholeheartedly believe that all of our apprentices did an exemplary job today."

o0o_o0o_o0o

 **A/N: This chapter was an absolute nightmare to write, and I have no idea why. Anyway, I really hope you liked it! Thanks for reading!**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Tra-la-la…Oh, what's this? A _weird_ chapter? Why, yes. Yes it is! ;)**

o0o_o0o_o0o

The chirping of songbirds was the first thing he heard. Their soft little trills danced cheerfully on the breeze, and for a while, that was all that existed in his world.

As he listened to them, he felt himself becoming more and more aware. Vaguely, it felt like he'd been in a deep sleep for a long time, his thoughts muddled and sluggish…But soon enough, his brain began to engage, his senses awakened - and he realized that he had no idea where he was…

Again, the sounds of the birds filled his head and he sighed contentedly, daydreaming that the joyful creatures were composing a melody just for him…A smile formed on his lips as he began to drift off again.

But then, and all too soon by his reckoning, the tune ceased, leaving his surroundings silent and his brain puzzled…What had happened to his little friends and their choir of happiness?

Without really making a conscious decision to do so, Will opened his eyes to investigate.

The first thing he noticed, oddly enough, was the way the sudden bright light didn't hurt his eyes. The second thing he noticed was the environment - he was in a forest…And the third and final thing he noticed was the fact that he was lying on the ground…

It was a realization that, under normal circumstances, might have troubled him…but somehow, this didn't feel like a "normal" situation, and he felt far from troubled.

Once he had gleaned a basic feel for where he was and concluded that he wasn't in any immediate danger, he decided he should probably get up. After all, if being Halt's apprentice had taught him anything, it was that laying about was an unacceptable activity for any respectable person and it should be avoided whenever possible. So Will slowly pushed himself up and adjusted his body so that he was in a seated position - and once he was there, his eyes traveled automatically down to his feet.

He couldn't suppress the slight frown of disappointment that marred his features when he saw that he was still missing the one on the right.

In dreams - which is what this _felt_ like - he usually had both. _But,_ he thought, bitterly optimistic, _at least I still have my prosthetic._

And so, after a few moments of silently dreading the initial pain and discomfort that accompanied movement, Will finally decided it was time he got up and went exploring. He gathered himself and rose to his feet in one fluid motion, fully expecting (at the very least) a twinge of pain, but it never came...His eyebrows rose in response to that pleasant surprise - it hadn't hurt at all.

Part of him wondered if it had just been a fluke, or if something really _was_ different with his leg.

He figured he should try to walk to find out, so he took a step - and then another - and another…

And then a smile broke out on his face. It didn't hurt! He felt like a child who had just gotten something they'd been desperately begging for. It was a giddy feeling, almost. He wanted to run.

...Nothing was holding him back.

At first he had started out at a slow jog, still unsure of himself, but soon he had broken out into a full-on sprint. Tears ran from his eyes - whether from speed or joy, Will could not tell - as he reveled in the feeling of the wind whipping through his hair.

It was strange, running had always been such a large part of his life before. It was something he had done countless times and thought nothing of it…but now the action felt monumental.

 _I'm doing it!_ He cheered inwardly as the trees blurred by him, and he continued running until his heart was contented, finally coming to a stop in the center of a stand of old-growth timbers. _Oak trees_ , he noted fondly, staring up into a canopy of rustling leaves.

As he looked around, he couldn't help but notice the calmness of this place. Something about it was _different_ …The very air here thrummed with life, and subconsciously he felt the need to be as quiet as possible.

It felt almost sacred.

The previous excitement from his run had been quickly overshadowed by the sheer power of the energy around him, _by the trees themselves_.

Question after question formed within his mind as he slowly approached one of the trees. He was dying to understand it all…

A look of innocent wonder spread over his features when he finally came to a stop in front of one of the tall oaks - and like a child, he immediately felt an urge to touch it.

His hand extended slowly toward the tree. In all honesty, he didn't expect it to feel any different from any other old tree in the woods…but then again, this was clearly no ordinary old forest - and as soon as his fingers connected with the rough bark of its trunk, he felt a tingle run up his arm that spread throughout his entire body. It felt _warm…_

Will's eyes were wide as he glanced toward another tree and ran to place his hands on it as well, wondering if they were all the same. He laughed out loud when he felt the same heat and vitality emanating from this one as well.

It was one of the most peculiar things he had ever felt or seen, after all, everyone knew trees were alive, but these trees…They had the warmth of a human body. They had _heartbeats._

He ran from tree to tree after that, placing his hands on each trunk so he could feel the life-forces contained within. And while he was doing that, he made an even more puzzling discovery - Each of these oak trees had a single person's _name_ carved into its trunk. And then he realized they were the names of _rangers_.

As Will darted back and forth between them, a thought struck him and he looked around...

 _Do I have a tree here?_

For a moment, he wondered if he would. On the one hand, he wasn't a ranger yet, and he still had doubts about his abilities, but on the other, it was all he wanted; his ultimate life goal…his calling.

...There was only one way to find out for certain - he would have to look for it.

So, with a deep breath, Will set off on his mission, allowing his intuition to guide him forward. And even though he didn't know anything about this place, he knew that, somehow, it would be crucial for him to find that tree.

…

Hundreds and hundreds of names he must have read as he wandered through the oak trees - some he had known and some he hadn't - but he never grew tired or bored of reading them as time ticked on. Occasionally, he'd been given a jolt of joy and hope when he'd see the name of a friend, the highlight of those being when he'd found Crowley's tree.

Which had been followed immediately by Gilan's…

And then again when he'd seen the name on the tree closest to that one - Halt O'Carrick.

His heart palpitated wildly…If Crowley and Gilan and Halt were right here, then maybe…

It was there.

The tree with his name carved into its trunk. It was right there, standing near to Halt's.

Of course it was.

At first, right after he'd found it, he had just stared at his name...Unlike the other trees, which bore both the ranger's first and last names, his simply read "Will". His hand reached up and traced over the letters while his mind flitted from thought-to-thought like a butterfly. _Who had carved these names? Where was he? What did all this mean?_

This was all so surreal, he was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed. In an attempt to calm his mind, he leaned his forehead against the tree and closed his eyes, suddenly feeling exhausted.

Then he heard it, a voice telling him to do something…

 _Climb._

He leaned back and looked around, searching for the source of the voice, but no one was there. _What was going on?_

 _Climb._ It said again, this time with enough force to get him moving.

Obediently, Will reached out, took hold of the tree and hoisted himself up. Maybe if he did what the voice wanted, he could get some answers. Luckily, it didn't take too terribly long, and soon enough, he had shimmied all the way up the oak until at last he had reached the top. And once he was there, he could do little else but marvel at the expanse of oaks that stretched farther than the eye could see. The view was truly incredibly.

 _You made it._

Will glanced around again, seeking the source of the voice, until -

 _You can't see me, Will._

"Who are you?" He asked at last, though he couldn't stop his eyes from scanning his surroundings anyway.

 _I'm a part of you. I live here, you see, amongst the other rangers._

"Other rangers..?" Will wondered briefly if he had, in fact, finally lost it…

 _Yes, of course. You saw the names below. Every ranger - past, present, and future - has a tree here. And every ranger, or at least a part of them, lives on in this place forever._

Will's shoulders dropped a little at that. "Am I dead, then?" His voice sounded a little sad, but also slightly hopeful.

 _No, Will. You're not dead yet…And you should not wish for such a thing…_

The young man glared down at his hands sullenly, slightly uncomfortable with what the voice said. "Why not? People keep telling me I'll be a ranger, but I just don't see how. Not with one leg…"

 _You handled yourself well enough with the bandits, Will. You saved Gilan and Halt. What more must you do to prove to yourself that you are overcoming the loss of your leg?_

He frowned again. "That was one time, and I don't even know if I succeeded in saving them! I probably botched it like everything else I've tried lately…"

 _Will…Halt and Gilan are alive, I promise you that. And they live now because of you. You exemplified what being a ranger is when you disregarded your own safety and comfort to help your friends…_

"My intentions weren't entirely noble, though, either. I wanted to prove myself to Halt…he doubted me, and I did what I did to show him that I…that I still could…"

 _Halt never doubted the strength of your heart, he just wanted to keep you safe. And regardless of your initial intentions, you still put yourself in harm's way to save them...The fact that you did that even though you were angry makes your actions all the more meaningful._

"So what?" Will snapped exasperatedly "None of that matters, I still let Halt down. I proved him right; that I wasn't ready to be in the field again."

The voice was quiet for a while, and Will feared that it had left - perhaps tired of his self-loathing - but it finally spoke again when his anxiety began to mount.

 _In a way, you are right, Will, you did prove Halt right. But it was about the fact that you've got the makings of a ranger. He believes in you and he's proud of you. You know that. You could never let him down…_

Will scoffed weakly. "What are you talking about? I let him down on a daily basis. And to make everything worse, now he's basically stuck with a crippled apprentice."

 _Will…_ The voice cut him off gently and the young man instantly quieted.

 _This place you're in is strange, isn't it…For example, this tree - your tree - has been here for ages. It stood tall long before you were born…And even before Halt was born. If you can believe it, your oak was grown from one of his tree's acorns…_

Will's eyebrows shot up in surprise at that tidbit of information. He had so many questions he wanted to ask, but ultimately ended up thinking better of it.

 _You see, Will, you are a ranger, no matter what. In life and in death, you belong amongst them - amongst us. You belong with Halt, as the same great ranger spirit dwells in him that dwells in you…I do not believe you can fail if you choose to succeed._

A frown had settled over his features while the voice spoke to him, he felt confused, but admittedly a little more reassured.

The silence was warm and relaxed as Will thought over everything he'd just heard. His eyes were resting on the horizon as he unthinkingly plucked a leaf from a nearby branch - then gasped in horror when he realized his potential transgression. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking! Was…was I not supposed to do that?"

Will held the leaf in his hands like a small wounded animal and looked around in concern, worried he had just insulted the powers that be…

A friendly chuckle sounded from the voice as a warm breeze blew over him.

 _It's fine, Will, it belongs to you._

Sighing in relief, Will looked down at it again, but what he saw made him freeze in surprise - for, somehow, the leaf had turned to silver in his hands.

o0o_o0o_o0o

 **A/N: Yeah, so this chapter was pretty terrible, but I've been working on it for days and it wasn't getting any better so here it is (I give up). However, I have now decided that dream-like writing is my nemesis, and I will attempt to kill it.**

 **I am REALLY sorry if it was bad, this was an experiment more than anything.**

 **ANYWAY - I wanted to write a Will-centric chapter, but since he's sort of in a coma (and a chapter from his physical point of view would be like "...…" ), this is what I came up with. We'll get back to the real world (and Halt) in the next chapter!**

 **Until next time 3**


	20. Chapter 20

"Well, Gilan, I have some good news for you," Thomas announced matter-o-factly as he finished his examination. "You're in decent enough shape to be sent home! I think you're free to go whenever you're ready, just remember: don't go stressing your stitches!" he added hastily before his tone turned to one of seriousness as he rounded on the other ranger.

"Halt, you will have to stay here until that wound is completely healed. I don't think I can trust you to take care of yourself properly or allow yourself the time you need to mend."

Gilan nodded smugly at the healer's words while giving his former mentor a purposefully annoying patronizing look, and Halt, who didn't have anything to throw at his cheeky colleague, chose to ignore the younger man and instead simply respond to the healer with a ferocious glare - though the other man remained unperturbed. "That's final, Halt."

The older ranger looked like he wanted to argue, if for no other reason than the simple fact that he didn't like being told what he could or couldn't do…but then his eyes traveled over to Will…the young man still lying in a coma-like state in the bed beside him. In all honesty, he didn't mind staying - in fact, nothing could make him leave so long as Will was there.

"And Will?" he asked quietly.

Thomas looked at the boy for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "Will has to stay until he wakes, of course, and probably a while longer after that. I'm worried about his head…he should have woken by now…" His tone was troubled and distant, and it made Halt feel anxious.

And then everyone who was standing around - or lying in - the beds looked at Will.

The young man's face was still relaxed in a mask of deep unconsciousness, and in the two days since the bandit fiasco, the only changes they'd seen in Will were the color of his bruises.

All three men were silent for several moments, each hoping and praying for Will's speedy recovery. After that, Thomas and Gilan pulled their attentions away from the apprentice ranger, before starting a conversation in muted tones about home care and check-ups.

Halt, however, wasn't interested in that, so he continued to watch over Will, completely lost in his own world.

As he observed the steady rise and fall of the boy's chest beneath the blankets, he found himself wondering if Will was dreaming at all…he hoped that if that were the case, Will was running and laughing and behaving the way he used to back when things were normal.

With a melancholy sigh that caused a pain to flare in his middle, he finally turned his head away, looking back up at the ceiling and wishing he could find those happy dreams for himself.

…

Gilan and Thomas were still chatting quietly half an hour later, Halt choosing not to interrupt them. Instead, the man just laid there in silent discomfort, his abdomen distractingly painful and the stitches itching horribly - but it was a point of pride with him not to ask for painkillers…though he wouldn't put up too much of a fuss if Thomas or one of the assistants encouraged him to take them.

Several minutes passed like that - with the two men talking and Halt suffering silently - until the tall ranger finally got up to leave. The young man had given his friend a pat on the shoulder and had promised to come by later to see how he and Will were doing, then Halt had waved him away gruffly, telling him to get back to work.

And so Gilan had left, and now Will and Halt were the only inhabitants of the sick ward. Well, the only patients, anyway…

"Halt," Thomas said as he reappeared out of his small office with a cup. "Do you need more pain tonic?"

The ranger did his best to appear comfortable, but his mind was beyond relieved at the offer.

"Probably will soon…" He replied with an almost dismissive tone - his pride kept him from enthusiastically accepting the pain relief in case that showed weakness.

Though Thomas, who had seen more than his fair share of wounded knights pretending like they were impervious to pain, wasn't buying it.

"Ah, well, I think you might need it now, if that grimace you keep trying to hide is anything to go on. I've got it here for you…" He handed the cup to Halt and stood by the man's bed until he had finished off the less-than-tasty liquid.

"If you need any more pain remedy, you should let us know so we can help. Otherwise, someone who sees you sitting here in pain when you don't have to be might think you're an idiot…"

o0o_o0o_o0o

When Halt awoke next, his head was pounding and his throat was parched. He desperately needed some water…

Rolling his head to the side, he felt relieved to see the pitcher sitting on his side table with a cup beside it. At least he wouldn't have to get up and go hunting for water in the middle of the night…

The middle of the night? Halt looked around in vague surprise as the time of day finally registered within his mind. He must have been asleep for hours…And then he recalled how light-headed and tired he'd been after that dose of tonic…and, oddly enough, he realized that he couldn't remember anything after that. His body must be sensitive to whatever Thomas had given him - which would explain the unusual pain in his head and the dryness of his mouth…He was so used to long days and short rests, it probably didn't know how to handle that much uninterrupted sleep anymore.

Suppressing the urge to groan, he managed to swing his legs out from under the covers so he could stand to pour himself a glass of water. It was either out of habit or courtesy to his bedridden apprentice that he tried to remain silent. Though, it wasn't really like he needed to be quiet, Will was unconscious…And waking him up at this point would actually be a good thing - if it could be done.

With his cup of water in hand, Halt sat back down on his bed and looked at his apprentice until he could bear it no more, then he set his mug aside and laid back down - though for some reason, sleep eluded him.

The minutes ticked slowly by as the ranger laid there, he was bored and wished Gilan was there to keep him company. And then he heard the sound that he'd been dying to hear for days: The person in the bed beside his was stirring.

As quickly as he could - while carefully trying not to pull on his stitches - Halt sat up and stared at the place he knew Will would be next to him. It was pitch black, but he could still make out the silhouette of Will's shifting form…

"Halt?" A weak voice broke the silence, so quiet that the ranger wondered if he would have heard it at all if he'd been asleep…

Sliding off of his cot, he made it across the small space between them in no time before kneeling down by his apprentice's bedside. His abdomen twinged a bit but he ignored it…Will's eyes were open, and without thinking about it, Halt placed a hand on the side of the young man's face to let him know he was really with him. "I'm here, Will, what is it?"

For a moment Will didn't say anything, he simply stared ahead into the darkness. Waiting patiently, Halt moved his hand up to brush aside some hair from the boy's forehead - an action that seemed to do the trick.

"I saw…your tree…" Will said quietly.

Halt resisted the urge to furrow his brow at the nonsensical statement. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't suppress the horrible sense of dread that was gripping his heart…What if the blow to Will's head had caused some sort of major, irreparable damage..?

He kept his tone light when he finally responded, trying his best to act as if he knew what Will was talking about. "Oh? My tree? How did you know it was mine?"

"Had…your name…next to Crowley's…and mine…Gilan too…"

"Hm…Was this in a garden?" Halt asked kindly, he wanted to keep Will talking so he could get a better idea of what was going on in his head.

Will squirmed weakly in discomfort, but answered his master's question anyway. "No…forest. All the rangers had…are trees…"

It was an odd thing to say, and Halt could no longer contain himself, his worry and confusion were at a boiling point.

"Will, I don't understand - you're not making any sense, lad…"

The young man's eyebrows drew together and he doubled down on what he'd said before, his voice now taking on a desperate, almost pleading tone. "I saw them…They were…everywhere. Your tree was beside mine…" It was clear that what Will was saying made perfect sense in his own mind - but Halt was still utterly lost.

He looked helplessly toward the door to Thomas's quarters, wondering if he should wake the man before quickly deciding against it. After all, Will wasn't in any physical distress that he could see, he was just saying strange things…they could deal with that in the morning…

" 'M tired…head hurts…" Will moaned pitifully.

"You should go to sleep, Will." Halt began in his most gentle, placating voice. "We'll talk more about it when you wake up,"

But apparently Will was still with-it enough to realize what he'd said was being ignored…His breathing grew faster and more uneven, then he started to sniffle. Tears of exhaustion, pain, and frustration welled up in his eyes, and when he spoke again, his voice was quite a bit louder than before.

"It's true, Halt…I saw them…" and then, in an almost broken whisper, he asked, "Why did you…doubt me..?"

Halt opened his mouth to reply but the words died in his throat. He wasn't sure if Will was speaking solely about the trees, or whether he was also talking about Halt's earlier denial of his abilities.

"Will, I-"

But Will didn't hear his master's voice, his eyes were already closing, and within the span of three seconds, the boy fell back into a state of unconsciousness.

o0o_o0o_o0o

"It was probably just a fever dream, Halt." Thomas said reassuringly as he sat and sipped his coffee with the troubled ranger. Halt had been hounding him with questions about Will's mental state since first thing that morning. And so far, nothing seemed to be able to make the man relax.

"You know, I've heard people ranting about much more peculiar things than trees after waking up from lesser head injuries…" Thomas imparted warmly, hoping the optimistic sentiment would serve to ease Halt's mind. A task that was proving to be impossible.

Halt frowned and stared at his drink. "I know…I'm just worried."

"You have the right to be, but you and I both know that won't help things. All you can do is continue to be there for him. Things will get better, you'll see."

…

From then on, the rest of the day was pretty boring - until about mid-afternoon.

Halt had been lying in his bed going over some reports that Gilan had brought by earlier when Will woke up for the second time.

The faint groan immediately had the ranger dropping his parchments and looking over at his apprentice, whose face was no longer lax in unconsciousness, but pinched in awakening discomfort.

"Will?" Halt asked with a bit more volume and emotion than he'd meant to use.

And then Thomas, who had heard what Halt had said, materialized a moment later by Will's bedside.

Halt silently kicked himself for his carelessness. He would have preferred to spend a few minutes speaking alone with his apprentice before allowing Thomas to insert himself with his relentless questions and prodding…

"Will, can you hear us?"

The boy flinched away from the noise as he tried to retreat into his pillows - but when that action failed, his eyes finally opened. And even though he hadn't answered Thomas's question yet, Halt could tell by the disgruntled look on his student's face that he could, in fact, hear them.

"How are you feeling?" Thomas probed gently, trying to get the young man to speak. Halt watched intently, holding his breath…

"…How..?" Was the first word that croaked out of Will's mouth. Halt noted that he looked tired, and his body was still covered in a veritable rainbow of different colored bruises -

"How did you get here?" Thomas extrapolated. Will nodded.

"Can you try to remember? We can fill you in if it's not coming back to you…"

Upon hearing the word "we", Will's head rocked heavily to the side so that he was staring directly at Halt. A sad little smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he looked at his master. Then he grew quiet, not moving or speaking for a long time. The two men beside him could see flashes of different emotions passing over his face as his brain took him back to the last time he had been fully awake…

"I…remember…" He rasped again, turning his head back to look up at the ceiling. He looked drained already.

Halt frowned when Will looked away from him, then he pushed himself out of bed slowly…He could tell that Will needed water, so he went to pour some from the pitcher on the night stand before shuffling over to his apprentice with it. Thomas smiled as the gruff man brought the water over and held the cup up to Will's mouth.

He would probably never get used to seeing Halt be so tender with another human being.

"Better?" The man asked huskily when Will had drained the cup, putting it aside without looking away from his young friend.

Will's eyes flicked toward Halt and he hummed an affirmative sound, accompanying it with another crooked-yet-tired smile. At least now talking would be easier for him…

"So," Halt started conversationally "What do you remember?"

"Gilan…" Will began, "He was on another mission…I was practicing in the woods. Gilan came back…I listened to what he told you…" As he said this, Will didn't look at his master for fear that he'd see anger and disappointment on the man's face. He knew Halt did not appreciate being spied on. "I wanted to prove that" he paused, and thought about what to say "…I followed you both after you left."

Will was quiet and scratched at his blanket with a finger. "But…when I got there, you had both been caught. I had to help, but I got caught too…and then…" He trailed off, still avoiding eye contact.

Thomas looked at Halt with a saddened expression, he was waiting for Halt to say something.

"Will…I never meant for you to feel like you had to do something like that to prove yourself…I'm sorry, lad."

The young man looked at his hands, opening one of them as if he were holding something. Whatever he was imagining seemed to give him some strength because when he spoke, his voice sounded much more confident. "Don't be sorry…I needed to do it…for my friends...and to prove to myself..."

Halt just nodded. He could understand what Will was saying. After all, it was hard to do anything if you didn't believe in yourself first…He just wondered if Will had finally gained some real faith in his own abilities. After all, his actions had been the reason that they'd been able to escape an almost certain death at the hands of the vengeful marauders…

"And?"

Will finally looked at his mentor, puzzled. " 'And'?" He repeated.

"Did you find the proof you needed?" Halt clarified in an unusually patient voice.

Another small smile tugged at the corners of Will's mouth and he gave a little nod. "Yes…I believe I did."

"Good," Halt said softly, a contented smile gracing his features as well "Very good."


	21. Chapter 21

**So sorry for the...holy crap - 13 month delay?! I kinda hit a brick wall and then the fire went out...But I'm back now, and like I promised, we are going to finish this! We are very close to the end! Thank you to anyone who read this, and to anyone who still has any desire to read it...Enjoy! PS: This is mainly a filler chapter, more to come soon!**

o0o_o0o_o0o_o0o_o0o

In the days that had passed since Will's awakening, things were finally calming down. Will's cognitive abilities were, thankfully, still intact and stable - much to everyone's relief and amazement. His bruises and sprains were mending nicely, and really, Will was just glad it was over.

The infirmary had become like his second home, and he was totally not okay with that. He was determined that this would be his last stay in this dreaded wing of the castle for the rest of his life. After all, he had had what seemed like a full lifetime's worth of infirmary visits all within a few months. He needed a _long_ break...Although, he had to admit that this last stay had been slightly more pleasant - simply because he had some constant company to distract him...when he was conscious...And also, Halt couldn't make him do chores if he annoyed him, and that was a rare treat.

In all seriousness, though, Will knew that this time they had spent together had been just what they both had needed...It was a time of rare vulnerability, and quiet, and calm - a time where they both had time to think with nothing else going on in the background. As they had laid there injured, they had the scarce opportunity to speak to one another without the pall of "master and apprentice" hanging over them. There, at that exact moment in time, they were just friends, temporarily free from the constant-yet-unspoken restrictions of their professional relationship...And sure, Halt could speak to him openly back at the cabin, but somehow, here they felt more...equal.

Halt had spoken to Will after his mind had gone somewhat back to normal...The ranger had expressed to him all the things he'd needed to hear. And this time, Will was finally able to believe, because in addition to what Halt had told him, he knew now that he could do it...For as horrible as his experience with the bandits had been, he had proven to himself, and Halt, that he could accomplish a mission. He could infiltrate, and fight, and rescue, and _work_ with only one leg. All it would take was steady practice to master the nuances, but he could, and would, do it.

Life was starting to make sense again.

...

And finally, it was time for the rangers to head back to their cabin in the woods. Halt's wound had healed up nicely and Will, miraculously, seemed to have evaded any lasting trauma from his run-in with the bandits. Although he was still sore - and missing a foot. Things were as good as they were going to get.

Thomas was looking both men over one last time as they prepared to be off...He would have been lying if he said he wasn't going to miss their company. Since he'd gotten to know them, he'd discovered that the old ranger wasn't as scary as he wanted people to believe, and Will was quite a cheerful lad when his mind was off of his leg and painful things. He could see why the two were so bonded to one another.

The healer smiled to himself as he thought about Will's progress. The boy's confidence was growing by the day, and the mentions of his leg were growing less and less frequent. He was adjusting, and Thomas figured it wouldn't be long at all before Will was back to his old self. He just hoped he could see the rangers from now on in ordinary encounters, and avoid having to treat them for anymore life-threatening emergencies. Thomas never wanted to see them in _this_ room ever again.

Of course, they were all in agreement there.

...

"Well, Will...Are you ready?" Halt asked gruffly, it was quite obvious from his own tone that _he_ was certainly ready.

Will glanced around himself and nodded, reaching down absently to give his prosthetic's straps one more little tug. He was having to get used to it all over again, but this time would be easier than the first.

Halt, dressed in his ranger's garb - something he'd been desperately missing - came over to stand beside his apprentice. He held a rough hand out for Will to grasp, and with surprising strength for someone who had been bedridden for over a week, pulled the younger man onto his feet.

Will couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face as his mentor let go and he stood there on his own. His leg was sore, but it didn't hurt like it had. It was a small thing, but it was just the type of positive that Will needed to get going. He took a ginger step and found that it wasn't so unbearable. Uncomfortable, but not unbearable.

He was so caught up in the moment, he didn't notice the smiles he had earned from his master and the healer who were watching him.

"I daresay he is!" Thomas chimed in encouragingly as he watched Will take a few steps. In that happy moment, he felt a tear spring to his eye, but ignored it.

And just then a familiar voice sounded form the doorway, "Will you lot stop fooling around, the horses are waiting!"

"Gilan!" Will called excitedly, spinning around and almost losing his balance, it had been awhile since he'd seen the other ranger - or at least awhile since he'd seen him while he was fully conscious and aware.

"Will! Good to see you looking healthy!" Gilan responded, before his expression took on a more serious vibe. "You'll have to stop all this getting hurt nonsense - you'll make me go prematurely grey like Halt!"

Halt snorted before firing back. " _You_ are the one responsible for the majority of my grey hair, Gilan."

"Well, in that case, you're welcome! I think it looks very handsome on you, Halt...Pauline thinks so, too!"

The older man didn't retort since Thomas was standing there, but Will could hear him grumbling under his breath and smiled. The scene was so familiar and comfortable, he felt like he was already home.

...

After some warm words and awkward hugs, the three rangers had bid their farewells to Thomas and the other nurses and had started making their way down to the stables.

Will had insisted earlier that he wanted to ride Tug home, and since Halt hadn't had the energy or desire to argue, he'd tasked Gilan with bringing the horses up. Truth be told, he himself was looking forward to getting back in the saddle...There was just something about riding his pony back to his cabin after the conclusion of a mission...it was the typical way all his adventures ended. And he surely wanted this "adventure" to be over...

As they approached the stable, Halt opened his mouth to snark back at Gilan after his mention of Pauline in the infirmary, but no sooner than he'd addressed his former apprentice, he saw his pony and his voice died in his throat. His expression turning to one of stormy fury...

In front of them stood Blaze, Tug, and Abelard - the latter with little pink flowers braided into his mane.

"Gilan!" Halt barked, rounding about to find his imp of a former apprentice red in the face with laughter.

"Isn't he pretty, Halt?" Gilan sang in his best attempt at a feminine voice. "I thought you would like it! Don't you like it, Will?"

Will, who had been walking in silence, concentrating on his leg and balance, was now grinning as he looked between Halt and his steed. Gilan was playing a dangerous game, but a part of him knew that this was all done for his benefit. Gilan was a funny character, after all, and his way of showing affection was often through silliness and teasing.

"The flowers do go well with your cloak, Halt." Will contributed, earning a wink form Gilan. He might as well take advantage of the fact that Halt was being unusually kind due to everything that had happened recently.

"Put a lid on it, Will," Halt snapped as he stalked forward, headed straight for Gilan and Blaze. "You..."

But just as Halt got close enough to land a punch, Gilan danced away merrily...Which had been Halt's plan all along.

Snatching Blaze's reins, Halt swung up into the saddle like a much younger man - too fast for the other man to react. A grin now graced his face as Gilan's faded.

"Halt! Hey, wait a minute!"

"I don't think so...You thought it was pretty, _you_ ride him home!" And with that, Halt turned Blaze and trotted away from his apprentices, past and present.

Will gave an apologetic look to Gilan as he limped over to Tug and scrambled into the saddle - suddenly thankful for the custom saddle that would make stealing his pony difficult for Gilan. And just then, Halt's voice carried back to them, "And I better not see you trying to remove any of those flowers before we get back to the cabin, Gilan..."

The younger ranger grumbled, slightly annoyed that his plan had backfired like this, but there was nothing left for it...he'd have to ride back like this or walk...Pulling his hood up and sinking back into his cowl to avoid being spotted by anyone, he mounted Abelard and urged the pony into his fastest gallop, leaving Will behind to shake his head at the antics.

Tug blew a snort and shook his head, _He tried to do my mane as well, but I wouldn't let him!_

"That's my Tug," Will said warmly as he urged his shaggy pony into a canter so they could catch up.

And Will was so excited to be going home, in the company of his closest friends, he didn't think twice about his leg the whole way.


End file.
